Yesterday, Again
by The Lone Wanderer
Summary: Minerva sent Zack back in time in order to fix everything that has happened. This time, will he succeed, or is he destined to relive every horror again? He must remember though, for every action, there is a reaction. On hiatus.
1. Back to the Old Days

**Honestly, I decided to write this story after reading Once More, With Feeling by Illusor Meneald (great story). This takes the concept of Cloud going back in time, but replaces it with Zack after his death.**

**I've never played FFVII, only Crisis Core, so apologies if any characters are ya know, not right (please let me know if they're not).**

**Also, I would love to hear what you think of this story!**

**Erm, nothing else except I don't own Final Fantasy VII, though I sure wish I did.  
**

--

This . . . wasn't what Zack thought dying would be like. He was expecting a nice and peaceful return to the Lifestream. What he got . . . was something a lot different, something a lot scarier.

Zack was standing . . . somewhere, surrounded by white. It was disorienting feeling, staring down at your feet and looking downward, the floor seemingly continuing forever. It was bright, but there was no light. A gentle breeze came through, but there was no characteristic whistle of the wind.

He stood in front of Minerva, he shield and spear standing upright. Light from an unknown source reflected off the crescent shaped metal that wrapped around her neck. Wings extended from each shoulder, swaying ever so slightly in time with the wind that defied the laws of physics to be there.

"Zackary Fair," her voice boomed, leaving an echo in the wide open space.

"Uh, hi?" Zack said, his palms sweating underneath his gloves. His sweater was still ripped open in the multiple places where he was shot, but each bullet wound was gone. In fact, every scar he ever received was gone except for the x-shaped one that adorned his left cheek.

"You have not fulfilled your destiny on the Planet," Minerva said.

Zack's eye twitched slightly at that remark. Well duh, he wasn't planning on dying literally three miles from Midgar. He was planning on becoming a mercenary, and spending the rest of his life with Aerith, if she even remembered him. His heart suddenly ached with the thought of Aerith, but he pushed it aside. He couldn't have any weakness while he was being judged by the Goddess of the Planet.

Minerva continued before Zack managed to get anything out. "You were meant to keep Angeal alive, keep Genesis from deserting, keep Sephiroth from going crazy. You managed to keep your friend Cloud Strife alive, for he will save the planet, but not without a price. The last Ancient, Aerith Gainsborough, will die in the process," her voice was emotionless, it seemed she either did not know or did not care about Aerith's relationship with Zack.

"NO!" Zack yelled, not caring about his outburst at the Goddess. "Aerith can't die! Please! Send me back! Kill me again! I don't care! Just please!" Zack's eyes were tearing up, but he refused to tear up.

"Hmm." The Goddess's voice now took on one of amusement. "I think I'll go with your first idea."

Zack's head exploded in pain, and as he gripped it to stifle it, black dots erupted across his vision, and eventually he gave up and fell to the ground, unconcious.

--

"Hey ya maggots! Better get yer ass outta' bed! 'Less ya wanna stay Third Class!" Zack opened his bleary eyes at the loud, southern drawl that poured into his ears. Light flooded into his eyes, and he had to blink multiple times before he could look around.

Teenagers who couldn't be older than fifteen or sixteen were scrambling out of bed, jerking open the footlockers that stood at the end of their beds, and throwing on teal SOLDIER outfits.

_Where am I? _Zack wondered as he rubbed his right eye with his palm. That's when it hit him like a freight time. Minerva was being serious! Zack was sent back in time to fix his mistakes, and apparently she sent him as far back as to when he was only a Third Class.

_Okay_ Zack said to himself, trying to remember. _Today must be the SOLDIER exam. Angeal notices me today, and he asks me if I want to be his student._

He slid out of bed and instinctively grabbed his SOLDIER outfit as he headed to the showers. He wasn't feeling hungry, he was still in too much shock, so he decided to enjoy his shower.

Zack froze when he looked into the mirror that hanged on the bathroom wall. The skin on his face was flawless, and when he ran a bare hand over his jaw his noticed the scar wasn't there anymore. _Figures. _His hair was also back to how it was when he was younger. Black bangs hung on either side of his head, giving the image of a frame around his face. The rest was still spiky, giving him the appearance of a black hedgehog.

Zack flexed in front of the mirror, and saw that his muscles were no where near as pronounced as they were before. _Well, gotta work on that_ He decided.

He climbed into one of the many shower stalls and turned the water on high. He hissed as cold water streamed down his back. _Crap, forgot these showers aren't as nice as the Firsts_. The water quickly got hot however, and Zack let the water pour over him, calming him. He stood there as he heard other showers turn off and boys laughing and joking as they headed to breakfast. He spent his time thinking. _Should I try extra hard to impress Angeal? Should I do what I did before? What did I do before? Crap. What am I gonna do? Just roll with it? Who am I sparring? What did we even do today? I don't remember the specifics! _Zack was slowly beginning to freak out, but then calmed himself. All this worrying was ruining his shower, and Zack reminded himself that the reason Angeal noticed him was because he was the best in his class.

He finally turned the shower off a few minutes later and stepped out, the drip drip drip of the water hanging from Zack's hair following him to the towel rack. He grabbed a towel and dried off, and slipped into his SOLDIER outfit. Staring into the mirror, he thought he looked weird in teal, and frowned at the roughness the outfit was made of. Again, Shinra was cheap and didn't put as much money into the Thirds as they did the Firsts.

"Hey," an armored head peeked itself into the bathroom. Zack instantly recognized the voice as Kunsel's. "Zack, the test is going to start in a minute, let's go."

"Right, I'll be there in a sec'." Giving the mirror one last glance, he followed Kunsel out of the bathroom and down the hall. He knew the hallways perfectly now, and he even had to correct Kunsel a few times.

"Since when did you become an expert of the layout of Shinra?" Kunsel asked, chuckling.

"Um, ya know, I'm just attentive."

"Attentive, right," Kunsel let out a full laugh this time.

"Hey!"

"I'm not the one who dubbed you 'Puppy'. Remember Angeal's report on you?"

"Oh yea," Zack said, chuckling nervously. _Oh yea, he already knows me!_ Zack mentally smacked himself in the head. Angeal already had taken an interest to him, and today was when he announced he was taking a student. It was all coming back to Zack.

"Well, here's your room. Good luck Zack," Kunsel said, giving Zack a quick fist bump before heading off towards his own test room.

He opened the door to the small gym, and didn't flinch when he saw Angeal standing there, arms crossed, Buster Sword strapped to his back. He was expecting this.

"Heya!" Zack grinned, waving to the older man. Angeal looked a little taken back by Zack's cheerfulness, but quickly recomposed himself. _Zack, you idiot, you and Angeal aren't friends yet! But wait, did your cheerfulness make you stand out? _Zack was at a dilemma, and decided to go with his cheerful demeanor, it had helped him out before.

"Zack Fair. SOLDIER Third Class. How are you?" Angeal asked. Zack remembered how he almost crapped his pants before at this question. Now he just took it in stride.

"Good, how about yourself sir?"

"Fine. All right Zack, are you ready for your test?" Angeal's arms lowered and his knees bent into a fighting stance.

"Oh yea!" Zack said, raising two fingers to his brow in a salute. He raised his fists, ready to defend. Angeal gave a quick jab, and it was much harder than Zack remembered. Zack waved his arm around, trying to shake the feeling of it being broken away. Angeal punched again, and this time his fist hit Zack straight across the jaw.

"Focus," Angeal commanded. _Focus, at least I can do that now. My body may not be strong yet, but my mind is! _Zack thought. He resorted to dodging each attack Angeal threw at him, and attacking when he saw an opening.

He got in about two hits on Angeal, and weak ones at that. Although he knew how to fight, his body wasn't ready for his mind. He had multiple bruises at places where Angeal had hit him. Zack was sure he failed which would not be good for what Minerva had told him, because he missed multiple easy punches that he saw and should have blocked, but his body was not quick enough yet.

However, history took its course and Angeal said to him, without marking any papers, "Congratulations. You are now SOLDIER Second Class."

"For real?!" Zack was genuinely surprised and excited, even though he knew this would happen.

"Yes. For real," Angeal said, a slight smirk on his face. "Also, report to this room at nine a.m. Tomorrow morning for personal training."

Zack was grinning. Back to the old days, when he was training under Angeal. He was sure he'd be able to make it to First Class before Genesis deserted as long as he worked out hard and managed to bulk up even more.

Zack remembered that Angeal always told him he had the talent and skill, but not the focus. That would be about five months from now. Zack had plenty of time to become strong enough to make it to First Class, and his once greatest weakness of being like a restless puppy would now be his greatest asset.

Angeal now headed out of the room, pausing before exiting, to say, "Zack, your now Second Class. Remember, if you want to make First, you must embrace your dreams, and protect your honor."

This time, Zack didn't even roll his eyes. He was just glad to hear that lame lecture Angeal always gave again.

_Make it to Second Class: Check. Now I just need to make it to First, talk to Genesis, prevent him from deserting, which will stop Angeal from leaving and Sephiroth going crazy. Cloud is still in Nibelheim, he told me he arrived about two months from now, or back then, or I don't know! This whole time paradox thing is hurting my head . . . and Aerith! _

Zack knew Aerith didn't have any previous relationships before him, but he still couldn't help but feel a little antsy knowing that his former girlfriend was down there in the slums, all by herself. He debated going to see her early or not, but he decided against it. Although he desperately wanted to see her, who knows if her mind at this time would accept him?

"Hey Zack, you make it to Second?" Kunsel asked, standing outside the room.

"Yup! You?" Zack said as he headed out to meet his friend.

"Yea, just barely though. Man, you're lucky. Being the best in our class, you'll have no problem getting to First."

Zack laughed, ruffling his mane of black hair with his hand. "Thanks, yea, thanks."

--

Zack, Kunsel, and two other new SOLDIER Second Classes sat at a table in the Shinra cafeteria, talking about their tests.

"You know, Genesis actually asked me if I could analyze a line of Loveless. I think he graded me on that . . ." a teen named John groaned.

"Yea, well at least you didn't have Sephiroth," another named Anthony told John. "He's freakin' crazy! I mean, not Loveless obsessive crazy, but he had to use Curaga on me four times! He showed no mercy!"

Kunsel turned to Zack, informing him, "He's lying. Sephiroth just used the training program. I had him. He just stood there, and stared, and just said 'You're Second.' That's it."

Anthony grinned at Zack when an eyebrow was raised at his questionable statement about Sephiroth. _I've dueled with Sephiroth. He shows mercy. But he didn't, that one night . . ._ Zack shuddered. He didn't want to remember that night in Nibelheim.

"What's wrong?" Kunsel asked, noticing Zack's shiver.

"Huh? Oh nothin' just hungry!" Zack said nonchalantly as he shoved a burger in his mouth. His cheeks stuffed, he looked up to see all three boys staring at him, eyes wide. _I guess my eating habits haven't changed at all_, Zack thought, then grinned before quickly shutting his mouth, realizing food was still in there.

--

Zack laid there in bed, his left arm curled around his head. His bright mako eyes stared up at the ceiling, seeing nothing.

_Tomorrow, when I see Angeal, I need to ask about Genesis, but how . . . _

--

**Well, that's the Prologue/Chapter 1. I hope everyone who reads this enjoyed the story.**

**Also, any constructive criticism, praise, flames, I'll read 'em all!**

**I marked Cloud as a main character because in a couple chapters he will play a MAJOR role in this story.  
**

**And, I'll try to update soon!  
**

**-The Lone Wanderer (I'm a Fallout 3 fan)  
**


	2. To Help a Friend

**Wow, this story is getting more readers than I thought.  
**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed! I will reply to all reviews tomorrow, I'm just really tired right now and need to get to bed (I have driving class in the morning).**

**I apologize that this chapter is short, but like I said, I need to get to bed, and this is all I could churn out in the short amount of time I had. Fear not though, for I will update a fairly lengthy chapter tomorrow.**

**Review if you want, please, I love getting feedback, whether it be good, bad, or indifferent.**

**I don't own Final Fantasy VII. **

--

Zack did not wake to the southern drawl that he remembered oh so well. Instead, it was a quiet, muffled cursing that caused his ears to perk up and his head to tilt slightly to the side, trying to catch who was talking.

His eyes adjusted fairly quickly, and because of the mako in his system he could see almost perfectly. A young boy who looked about fourteen was sitting on the edge of the bed that sat across from Zack's. Brown, wavy hair flowed down to his neck. His eyes glowed in the dark, and Zack could make out that the boy was wearing a teal uniform. _Shouldn't he be wearing his pajamas? Or at least a SOLDIER Second outfit?_

Zack crawled across his bed until his feet dangled over the edge, coming to a rest on top of the cool metal of the footlocker. He got a closer look at the boy, and realized who it was. _Essai? Wait, didn't he make Second?_

"Essai?" Zack asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Huh?" The teen looked up, and Zack saw the skin around his eyes were red. He must have been crying.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't . . . make it to Second." _Crap _Zack thought. Essai wasn't that good. He remembered back to when he and Tseng went to his and Sebastians grave, the two swords sticking out of the snow, crossing each other in an 'X' formation. _So this is what happened? Shinra sent them on a mission they couldn't handle?_ Zack figured it was time to fix one of his mistakes, letting two of his SOLDIER friends die. He may not have known Essai to well at the current time, but his memories of Essai showed that the two were good friends, and it hurt when he learned about his death.

"Come on," Zack told Essai, opening his footlocker and pulling his SOLDIER outfit out.

"What?" Essai asked, squinting his eyes, confused.

"Let's practice," Zack said, flashing a grin at the younger boy. Essai looked hesitant for a moment, then he let a smile out and nodded his head.

Essai followed Zack out of the training room, and down the hallway. The two stopped at a dooryway that restricted their continuation of their path.A keypad was attached to the door, right beneath a handle.

"How are we gonna get through?" Essai asked, his thumb rubbing against his pointer-finger nervously.

"Hold on," Zack replied, snapping his fingers quietly. It was a habit he developed that came out whenever he tried to think. _This is the door leading to the training rooms, so the code should be 3379 . . ._

Zack punched in the code, praying that it was correct. A slight his and a green light beeping confirmed his guess.

"Whoah, how'd you know that?" Essai asked.

"Erm, I pick things up," Zack smirked. The two continued until they reached the training room that Zack took his test in.

Zack pulled a handle that hung on the wall down, and a door swung open, revealing a vast repertoire of weapons for choosing. He didn't bring his actual sword, because he was only training. _Gotta be careful _ he told himself earlier when debating on whether or not to bring it. He grabbed a basic wooden sword off the rack and tossed it to Essai, who clumsily caught before it clattered to the ground. Zack took a wooden sword as well, and twirled it a couple times in his hand for good measure.

"Won't we get in trouble?"

_Eh, haven't thought about that. _"No," Zack said, forcing himself to sound more confident than he really was. _Please say we don't get caught._ "So, what were ya havin' problems with?" Zack asked.

"My blocking wasn't good enough, at least, that's what Angeal said," Essai frowned.

Zack chuckled. "Well, Angeal is usually right." Essai nodded glumly. "Hey, don't worry, I'll help ya. Attack me, and I'll show ya!" Zack said cheerfully.

Essai swung at Zack, who blocked the blow with expert posture. "See, if you keep your knees bent like this, you'll have a better center of balance, and you can parry better." _Thank God I know this_ Zack thought to himself. It was helpful. If he didn't remember any of his former SOLDIER training he'd have no hope of making it to First Class in time to help Genesis.

The training went on four about an hour, and Essai was making substantial progress in that short amount of time.

"Good!" Zack said, encouraging the younger as he successfully blocked one of Zack's attacks.

Essai was about to swing again when the door to the room slid open, revealing the silhouette of a man with a giant sword strapped to his back.

"U-um, s-s-sir, we were j-just u-uh . . ." Essai was trembling and he was unable to finish his sentence.

Zack however, spoke boldly, hoping to dissuade Angeal of enforcing any punishments that he was currently thinking up with his sureness. "I was just helping Essai train. He told me he didn't make it to Second Class, and I just thought 'Well hey, why don't I help him out?' Ya know?" Zack's mouth was moving a mile a minute, and Angeal just stared at him sternly.

"Essai, go to bed," Angeal said to the brunette, who quickly scurried out of the room, leaving the raven haired teen to fend for himself.

"Uh, sir, I'm sorry," Zack said lamely. _Come on Fair! You've been in these situations all the time before and you were fine back then. Why not now? _

"Zack. You broke into one of the restricted areas of the Shinra building. That is a violation of the Shinra Code of Conduct."

"Yea, but, I was just trying to help him!" Zack's voice was turning into a desperate plea. Angeal crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine. Go to bed. Be here tomorrow at nine a.m.. And be ready for training." With that, Angeal turned and left the room.

Zack let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding, and took a giant gulp of air.

_Great. Minerva didn't tell me that **this** was going to happen! Ah well, if it's gonna help save Essai's life, I guess I can suffer._

Zack slowly trudged back to his quarters, feeling that he couldn't get there late enough. He didn't want to go to bed, because going to bed would mean time going past quickly, and Angeal's training starting sooner.

Essai was already asleep when Zack arrived, and as he took off his outfit and wiped the sweat off his brow with a towel that hung on a bedpost, he stole a glance at his cellphone that sat charging on a table next to the bed.

The time read: _3 : 48 a.m._

Zack inwardly groaned.

--

**Just introducing another character here. You all probably know Essai from either Before Crisis or he was in a DMW scene in Crisis Core. He and Sebastian will actually be in this story a fair amount, because I thought "Hey, Zack's trying to help all his friends".**

**Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed it!**


	3. Ain't that a Cigarette?

**Okay, so it's a little after Saturday, when I said I'd get this chapter up, but oh well, it's only an hour!**

**No reviews, but quite a few favorites and alerts so woohoo!**

**I'll stop talking now and let you read this chapter**

**I don't own Final Fantasy VII  
**

--

"Hey man, wake up," Kunsel nudged his friend in the shoulder.

"Uh, what?" _I didn't think I would be sleeping in death, wait . . . when did Kunsel die?! Oh yea, yesterday wasn't a dream._

"Come on, you're gonna miss breakfast." Kunsel again nudged his friend, this time a little more roughly.

"I can't go, I have training with Angeal," Zack replied. He sat up, and Kunsel laughed at his messier than usual hair and his eyes half closed.

"Training privately with one of the legendary Firsts? I envy you," Kunsel said.

Zack rubbed the back of his head, blink to get the crust out of his eyes. "Oh yea, I forgot to mention, it's because I was caught by him sneaking out last night to a restricted training room . . ."

"What?! Why would you do that? You're already at the top of the charts!"

"I was helping Essai out with his blocking . . . he didn't make Second."

"Oh," An awkward silence followed for a few seconds, before Zack broke out into a grin.

"But hey, Angeal can't be too hard on me right?" Kunsel chuckled at his friend's constantly optimistic attitude.

"Of course not. You are, after all, his _puppy_," Kunsel said. He hopped backwards laughing as Zack lunged at him, causing the raven-haired teen to go crashing to the ground. "I hope that woke ya up, now, since I'm not forced to train until later in the day, I am going to get some breakfast. Later,"

"I hate you!" Zack called after his friend, but the grin had yet to be wiped off his face. Kunsel responded with a casual wave before turning the corner out the door.

_Great. I hope I'm right about Angeal not being too tough on me. It won't help at all if I get demoted or kicked out _Zack thought to himself. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. It wouldn't help if he psyched himself out before he even knew what would happen to him.

Glancing over at the clock, he saw the time read _8 : 52_.

_Crap! I have eight minutes to get to the training room! _Zack was now fully awake, and struggling to put his armor on quickly.

He stumbled down the hallway jamming his arms under the shoulder pads, attempting to wave at people who called out "Fair, congrats on the promotion!" or "Hey man, nice job!". After he got his armor on fully, he pulled out his PHS to look at the time.

_8 : 59_. Bringing out newfound energy, Zack put on another burst of speed to his sprint as he careened down the hallway, forcing people to move to the sides in order to not be trampled.

_Crappity crap crap crap! Angeal's gonna kill me!_

--

Angeal stood in the training room, the Buster Sword held out in front of him, his forehead pressed against the cool metal of the blade.

He was focusing on finding his center of balance when the sound of a door sliding open and muttered curses flooded his ears.

He quickly sheathed the Buster Sword, looking up to see his guest. Zack stood up straight, panting. His face was sweaty, either from exhaustion or nervousness Angeal could not tell, though he guess the latter. Black hair stuck out from all sides. At least normally it had some sort of messy resemblance to a porcupine, now he just looked like a crazy scientist.

"Sir, sorry I'm late, sir," Zack stood up straighter and saluted, this time with his full palm instead of two fingers. _Angeal loves formality, please Minerva, do not change that trait about him._

"Call me Angeal," Angeal said. "As for being late, it's only two minutes, I am fine with it. However, if I were Sephiroth, you would be wishing you never came out for SOLDIER." This seemed to relax Zack, as his regular grin spread across his face.

"Seph's a hard ass eh?"

Angeal couldn't help but smirk. "You have no idea."

"Oh, I think I do," Zack said. _Believe me, I do._

Angeal brushed off the last comment, refusing to think anything of it. "All right Zack, I believe you know why I called you here this morning."

"Because I came into a restricted area after hours without permission," Zack mumbled, sounding like an eight year old who was being scolded.

"Correct. And while I usually do not condone those actions, your intentions behind your actions seemed honorable, and therefore I'll let it slide. But only this once," Angeal said. Zack grinned and launched himself at the older man.

"I love ya man!" Angeal shove him off, and Zack went crashing to the ground.

"Zack. Focus. We're going to be working with a simulation today, understand?" Zack nodded as he stood up. _Hm, which'll it be? The Wutain Military on the train? Or maybe the marlboro? Nah, Angeal wouldn't pit me against that the first time . . . how about a simulation summon? That might make sense, get me used to those, although I already am hehe. _ His thoughts were interrupted when a VR visor bounced against his chest and fell into his hands. "Put it on," Angeal ordered.

Zack obliged, and as he slipped the headpiece over his eyes, he saw the all too familiar VR setup.

"Have fun with this one," Angeal said, and although Zack couldn't see the First, he was sure there was amusement flashing in his eyes.

"My sword?" Zack asked. _Was I supposed to bring my SOLDIER Third sword? I could've sworn Angeal gave me a new one when I became Second!_

Metal wrapped in leather was placed into Zack's hand as a response. It was a standard SOLDIER Second hand-and-a-half sword. _Woohoo! My favorite! _

The room around Zack slowly began to dissolve, and he soon found himself standing in the middle of a small clearing in a forest. _Son of a . . ._

Zack never got to finish his though. A screech tore through the air and Zack had to to cover his ears to keep his eardrums from being ruptured.

He heard a large smash next to him and looked to see dirt flying into the air. His instincts told him to dive to the right, and that's exactly what he did, and not a moment too soon. As soon as he was in a different spot another tentacle came crashing down in the exact area Zack was at. _Thank Minerva that I wasn't a complete weakling when I was a Third!_

Zack brought his sword up and down in a slicing motion, cleaving down on the tentacle nearest to him. The marlboro screeched in pain, and it's tentacles were pulled back into the air. Zack waited until they came crashing down again, and this time he leapt on top of one of the tentacles and ran up it to the main body of the marlboro.

It growled at him as it saw Zack running towards it, and it lifted its tentacle up, attempting to throw Zack off balance. Zack fell forward and began to tumble downwards, but he managed to stab the marlboro in one of its eyes. It howled in pain, and left Zack alone on the ground. Zack stood himself back up, his left angle slightly throbbing in pain. He ignored it, and brought his sword upward, cleaving the marlboro that was directly above him.

Liquid poured onto him, and Zack resisted the urge to vomit. _It's only a simulation, it's only a simulation, it's only a simulation_ he told himself as the marlboro fell to the ground next to him, dead.

The forest dissolved and the training room reappeared, with Angeal standing in front of Zack applauding. "Impressive," he told the young teen.

_Come on, play dumb Zack! _"A marlboro! You serious! My first time!" Zack cried out. He silently praised himself for sounding convinced.

"Don't complain Zack. You were outstanding during your test yesterday and I wanted to see how you would fair, no pun intended. And you did great. You killed that marlboro in record time, even faster than Sephiroth." Zack grinned at his mentor's praise.

"Thanks," Zack said.

"Now go eat breakfast. It's only 9: 30, the cafeteria serves it until 10. And you're free for the rest of the day, but you'll have a mission tomorrow. Understood?"

"Oh yea!" Zack grinned. He twirled his sword in his hand before strapping it to his back. Angeal sighed at his show, but didn't say anything.

As Zack left the room, Angeal pulled out his PHS and dialed the number of Sephiroth.

"Yes Angeal?" A stoic voice came over the line.

"Sephiroth, do you know a Zack Fair?" Angeal asked.

"Ah, Corporal Zackary Fair, yes. I believe I saw him training once or twice when he was with the cadets. Quite an impressive ability in that young man I must say."

"He just took down a marlboro in record time. Faster than you."

"What?" Sephiroth's tone changed slightly. Most wouldn't notice the change, but Angeal picked up the hint of disbelief.

"It's truth. I watched it with my own eyes . . . he looks like he's been trained before, by me. He used some moves that I use a lot, it's weird Sephiroth."

"Well," Sephiroth's voice returned to back to its normal self, "continue to watch him. If he continues the good work, promote him early."

"He'll be the youngest First Class ever Sephiroth."

"Your point?"

" . . . never mind. Will do. Bye." Angeal hung up the phone. He was determined to keep an eye on Zack and see what this teen was capable of. He was going to make sure Director Lazard gave him a difficult task to accomplish tomorrow.

--

**To clarify, Zack is not going to be like some uber God in this story. He took down a marlboro because I think hey, Angeal probably made him fight quite a few when he actually was a SOLDIER Second Class under Angeal's command.**

**Also, his physical ability is already up there, not as strong as a First, but better than most because I figured that if he was specifically chosen to study under Angeal, he must be like the top in his class or something.**

**But yea, Zack ain' perfect, as you'll see next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	4. Some things You Wish You Remembered

**Thank you everyone who reviewed! I'm glad that tons of people are enjoying this story, I hope you all like reading it as much as I like writing it!**

**I don't have much to say, except I'm sorry this is a short chapter, but it was great stopping place, and I promise I will update tomorrow.**

**I don't own Final Fantasy 7.**

--

The cafeteria was, unsurprisingly empty when Zack arrived at 9 : 45. There were a few people scattered here and there around the tables, but the only one who caught his eye was an auburn-haired male in a crimson leather trenchcoat.

_Genesis! And he's reading Loveless, eh, no surprise there . . ._

All thoughts of food forgotten, Zack headed over to table, sitting down onto one of the chairs and letting his feet hit the ground with a loud 'smack'.

Genesis looked up for a moment, and after looking at the grin Zack plastered on his face, he returned to his book.

"Hey, so uh,_ Loveless_?" Zack said, trying to sound casual.

"And you are?" Genesis asked, his eyes not leaving the book. _He doesn't know who I am? Duh Zack of course not! You're only a Second! _

"Zack Fair, sir." Zack said, deepening his voice slightly trying to sound more mature.

"Oh yes, I know you," _What?_ "Angeal's puppy. Zero attention span. He's quite impressed with your abilities though."

"Gah!" Zack groaned. "Why does everyone assume I can't focus?" He laid his head on his arms that were currently laying on top of the table.

Genesis chuckled, flipping his hair out of his eyes, this time looking directly at Zack. _Those eyes, they're not filled with hatred. Genesis actually looks, normal, and I gotta keep it that way!_ "What brings you here Corporal Fair?"

_Crap . . . uh, why am I here? I can't just say "Well gee Genesis, I don't wanna see ya go crazy in a couple months. _"Uhhh, well uh, I know you love _Loveless_, no pun intended sir, and I was just thinkin' uh, do you, uh, wanna form a study group, uh, analyzing the play?" _Wow. Could. You. Have. Been. Lamer?_

"Maybe when you're First Fair, which reminds me. Congratulations on beating Sephiroth's record against the simulated marlboro. Quite impressive."

_WHAT?! _"H-h-huh?" Zack stammered. _I can't do that! That like, screws with history, who knows what'll happen!? Calm down Zack, the worst that could happen is that you get promoted early right? And that won't be so bad._

"Yes, if you look at Shinra's leader-boards, you're now number one in that simulation." Zack gulped. Genesis heard it, and made the comment, "Don't worry. Sephiroth isn't the jealous type. Just hope he doesn't suddenly request you as a sparring partner." With a wink, Genesis closed his book, stood up, and walked away.

_Did he just make a joke?_ Zack wondered.

A sudden beep coming from his pocket startled Zack, and he pulled out his PHS, reading "one new mail" on the front screen. He opened it to read the message.

**Zack,**

**You have an assignment tomorrow. Shinra military patrols have reported gangs being formed in response to Don Corneo's underworld empire. **

**You are you to find the gangs and uproot them. We can't have gang wars going on down there. **

**Report to me now for a full briefing.**

**-Angeal**

_Great, first mission a gang war? Maybe I shouldn't have done so well against that marlboro. Oh well, a chance to prove that I can focus to Angeal! _

--

Zack barged into Angeal's office without knocking, causing the older man to look up from the papers he was filling out.

"Zack. I've been your mentor for less than a day. You can't just barge into my office."

_Oh yea . . . _"Sorry, just came to find out about my mission!" Zack placed himself in the single armchair that faced Angeal's desk. He swung his feet up, placing them on the wood.

"Has anyone ever told you you have too much confidence?" Angeal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You have." _Not yet though, crap!_

"I have?"

"Uh, just now!" Angeal gave him an odd look, but didn't say anything about it.

"All right, well, like I told you in the mail, you are to go to the slums, gangs have been reportedly popping up everywhere, the most prominently of these being the Dragon Warriors."

"Pretty generic name eh?" Zack grinned at his mentor.

"They're wutain Zack, it holds meaning to them," Angeal sighed.

"Right, so you just want me to go down and eradicate them?" Zack asked.

"Yes, but please use discretion, we don't want all of Midgar knowing we are allowing gangs to form."

"Right. So just all of the slums, or -"

"Sector Five Slums, to be precise," Angeal interjected, cutting Zack off.

_Aerith!_

"And," Angeal added, "stay out of the Turks way."

"Right." Zack didn't have to ask why the Turks were down there, he already knew the answer.

--

Whistling, and with his hands behind his head, Zack strolled around the Sector Five slums looking for any sign of a gang. Graffiti, banners, groups, nothing. The streets were empty, even of civilians.

_Wait is that because . . . what day is it? Oh . . . son of a-_

The sound of a gun cocking interrupted his thoughts.

"Putcha hands up Soldia boy!" the thug shouted.

_Aw come on! I can't die now! _

Zack obliged, raising his hands above his head. The thug laughed. "I thought we told ya Shinra grunts to stay out of the slums today. It's time for the rumble babyay!" the thug ended with a wolf howl, and Zack took this time to strike.

He ducked, hearing a gunshot ring out, and he kicked out, feeling his boot connect with the thug's kneecap. He yelped in pain, and dropped his pistol. Zack grabbed the gun before it hit the ground, then smacked the thug in the head in it, knocking him out.

Taking a cursory glance over the gangster, Zack saw a tan complexion, black hair, and almond shaped eyes.

_Definitely wutain, gotta be from the Dragon Warriors. Why did Angeal send me down on the day of one of the most famous gang wars in history . . . not cool!_

Zack started to hear other guns cocking, and he looked around him to see about five gangsters standing around him, pistols ready to fire.

"Uh, hi guys," Zack said, cocking his own pistol that he stole from the first gangster. Before any of the gangsters could react, Zack fired three times in rapid succession, causing three gangsters to fall. Once the other two saw what was happening, they reacted. Two gunshots came flying at Zack, and he dove to the right, feeling a sharp pain tear through his left shoulder. Zack rolled back onto his feet, then through his pistol at one of them, hitting the man in the head.

The last one raised his pistol at Zack one last time, his hand shaking. "Go," Zack said to the man, who eagerly ran away back into a dirty alleyway.

_Ah, shit. Is that? Yup, that's blood. Ouch that hurts, really badly. Shouldn't touch that, and now my shoulder feels wet, and warm, and . . ._

Black splotches flashed across Zack's vision, and his last thoughts before he passed out were

_Why didn't I remember I used to be squeamish?_

--

**Apologize for the cliffhanger, but it's necessary. Okay, it's not necessary, but it's fun!**

**I'll give a hint as to what happens next chapter. Where is Zack right now? **

**:D**

**- The Lone Wanderer**


	5. Flower Girl

**This chapter is a lot longer than I was planning on making it, but oh well, I don't expect complaints there :P**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting them and reading them!**

**I don't own Final Fantasy VII.**

**This story was inspired by Illusor Meaneld's _Once More, With Feeling_ fic.  
**

**Here we go!  
**

--

"Helloooooooooo," a voice called out. Zack's senses were still slow, and the voice sounded very deep.

_Ouch, my shoulder hurts. Really badly. Let's try to move it . . . yea, no._

As Zack slowly regained consciousness, he looked around. It was a church. _Wait I must be_, Zack smiled inwardly.

"Heaven?" He asked, remembering the conversation he had so long ago.

"Not quite. A church in the slums," the voice was going up in pitch, back to the same memorable voice that Zack loved.

Opening his eyes wider, he saw Aerith leaning over him, concern showing clearly in her eyes. He smiled. "An angel." It wasn't a question.

She shook her head, but she too was now smiling. "I'm Aerith."

Zack was grinning as he attempted to sit up. It was tough, because his left arm was basically a dead weight, but he managed to do it. "Thank you so much Aerith," he said to her. _Just like before . . . but this time, much, much sooner. I hope she still likes me . . ._

"Who are you?" she asked, tapping her chin with her pointer finger.

_Oh yea, I keep forgetting no one knows me! _"I'm Zack," he said, raising his right hand to shake. She took it, and Zack's heart began to beat faster just from that small contact. "How'd I end up here?" he asked.

"Well, I saw you laying on the street, bleeding badly, so I brought you back here!" she ended with a hint of pride in her voice.

"All by yourself?" Zack smirked, raising an eyebrow at the flower girl.

"Well, I had some help," she said rather sheepishly, "but I did get the bullet out, and stopped the bleeding!" Her confidence was back.

Zack looked around the church, knowing who the help was. He saw Rude crouched in the rafters above. He winked at the Turk, who was visibly taken aback at the action. Zack started laughing, and Aerith tilted her head, confused. "What's so funny?"

"Huh? Oh nothing . . . thank you again Aerith. I need to repay you, but I don't know how . . . how about one date?" _Maybe it'll work this time._

"Don't be silly!" Aerith said, but Zack saw her blush ferociously. _Yes!_

"Aw come on!" Zack mockingly whined, giving his best puppy dog eyes.

Aerith stared at him for a moment, her face flushed. "O-okay," she managed to get out.

Zack whooped and flipped onto his feet. _Oh yea, my shoulder_ Zack mentally smacked himself as his vision began to get fuzzy as he landed on his feet. He wasn't thinking as he used his left arm to help him flip up.

Aerith caught him though, and sat him down on a pew. "Maybe you shouldn't be going so soon," she told him, sounding motherly.

"Want me to stay here longer?" Zack asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Aerith giggled, but didn't respond. "So, I'm impressed. You have flowers here. You don't see many of those in Midgar!"

"They only grow here. And I planted some in my front yard," Aerith said, turning to look at the flowers. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"You should sell 'em!" Zack exclaimed, pumping his arm up and down. _Owwwwwww, come on Zack remember, your left arm is injured!_

"Huh?" Aerith spun around suddenly, facing him.

"Yea," Zack said, "Midgar full of flowers, wallet full of money!"

"Midgar full of flowers, wallet full of money . . ." Aerith repeated.

"I'll even help ya! We can build a wagon!" _And this time, I'll make one that's cute!_

"Okay!" Aerith replied excitedly.

Zack was about to stand up but his PHS started ringing. "Hold on," he said to Aerith, before pulling out his PHS and opening it.

"Zack?" It was Angeal.

"Yea?"

"I need you back here now. Mission debriefing."

"Aww come on! Can't I come back later?" Zack glanced at Aerith.

"No, I need you back now."

"Gah, fine!" Zack hung up his phone, and tucked it away in his pocket. "I'm sorry Aerith, I gotta go."

"Oh, okay," Aerith said, her voice small. "Will I ever see you again?" She asked suddenly. _Should have been expecting that!_

"Of course!" Zack assured her. "In fact, here's my phone number. Call me whenever you want!" He scribbled his number down on a piece of paper he had in his pocket, and handed it to her.

"Okay!" Aerith's frown turned back into a smile, and Zack grinned back at her. As Zack began to walk away, Aerith called after him, "Bye!"

_I love you_, Zack thought, but he knew he couldn't say that. It would just freak her out, and he did not want that happening. "Bye!" He waved over his shoulder, and looking up at the rafters, he called out, "See ya Rude!"

He laughed as he exited the church, wanting to see the Turk's reaction.

--

Zack once again entered Angeal's office without knocking, and he got a reproving look from the man.

"Zack, please knock."

"Whatever," he said, sitting in a chair. He clearly was not happy about something.

"Angry?" Angeal asked, curious.

"Well, considering the fact you made me leave the love of my life, I'd say so!" Zack pouted.

" . . . "

"Nevermind," Zack said, "what about the mission. Failed didn't I?"

"Actually, no. A Turk told me that he and the female he was observing found you with a bullet hole in your shoulder, and she had to heal you, but aside from that, the mission was a great success." Angeal slowly put his hands together, waiting for Zack's confusion that he knew would be coming. "You may want to get that shoulder checked out by a doctor."

"I will, don'tcha worry Angeal! Anyway, I only took down like, six guys, how did that help?" He asked, removing his feet from the desk, instead putting his elbows on it and framing his jawline with his palms.

"Seven actually, the Turk counted. And as it turns out, five of them were the elite in the Dragon Warriors gang, so, congratulations."

"Whoopee," Zack said, throwing his hands up into the air, unenthusiastically.

"Are you seriously _that _bent out of shape about making you come back?" Angeal asked.

"Yes."

"You're spoiled. And I'm sorry I interrupted your conquest of one of the female population."

Zack laughed. His mood was improving already. "Hardly a conquest Angeal, I really like her."

"But you met her today?"

"Yea . . ." Zack's voice suddenly seemed very distant, but Angeal didn't question it. Instead, he moved on to his next topic.

"By the way, as a SOLDIER Second, you are required to teach at least one cadet training class, in addition to your classes, understood?"

"Yea yea, I know," Zack said.

"Did you know you have your military tactics class in thirty minutes?" Angeal asked, smirking.

"Erm, no . . . I better go so I can get to the infirmary in time . . . they'll give me free pass right?" Angeal shook his head, smiling. "Okay, well, gotta go!"

--

Zack forgot how cute the Shinra nurses were, but he was soon reminded once they all started winking at him. _Come on Fair, you're taken! Well, not technically yet, but, ya know. _He resisted the urge to wink back, instead ignoring them. He could see the dissapointment on their faces and that made him smirk. _Aerith's a lucky girl. _

The doctor though was a man, and luckily he didn't hit on Zack. "Take off your shoulder pad. Okay, this may a hurt a little, but the shot will kill the pain by tomorrow morning, and just a warning, you may feel drowsy. And try to put much pressure on your shoulder for the rest of the evening."

_Oh come on, I've suffered much worse than a - HOLY MOTHER OF SHIVA._

"All done, you can go now." Zack glanced at his PHS while tenderly rubbing his shoulder. It was 4 : 53. He had seven minutes to get to class.

"Uh, thanks," Zack said. He was being courteous, he at the moment was not very happy at the doctor for causing immense pain in his left shoulder.

--

"Zackary Fair, please wake up!" The teacher ordered, and Zack groggily looked around the room to see multiples pairs of eyes staring at him.

"Sorry teach, there was this shot, and uh, nevermind," Zack ended in a mumble. _Stupid shot! Does it even matter? It's not like I don't know this crap._

"Well, since you apparently know enough to doze off, which do you think to the most powerful in a battle?"

Zack didn't even know the choices, but he knew exactly what he was going to say. "Well, an army is useless, because there's so many it gets chaotic and no one knows what to do. Plus if they're fighting a small group, they're more likely to hit each other than the actual enemies. A small group isn't that great because although they may be stealthy, there's not enough to actually do tons of damage, unless you have like, five Sephiroths, but we all know even Hojo isn't that crazy. One Sephiroth may be useful, but if you just have one incredibly powerful warrior, what does he have to fight for? I mean, sure, money, but that's not a great incentive. Honestly, if you want to win, you need someone who actually has someone to fight for, whether it be a friend, or a love, or _something_! Material items really don't cut it to be proper motivation." He looked around the room, this time seeing multiple pairs of eyes and open mouths.

"Go see Director Lazard," the teacher said, pointing towards the doorway. Zack nodded, gulping. _What did I say wrong? Was it that Hojo comment? But come on, everyone knows Hojo's crazy, right?_

--

"Angeal, please come up here, when you get a chance, thank you," Lazard had to leave a message, Angeal didn't answer his PHS.

The door opened and Zack walked in. He was certain to be respectful up here, his stance rigid, and he stood in front of the chair, staring at Lazard.

"I apologize for not knocking sir, the secretary sent me in."

Lazard waved his hand, "At ease, Corporal Fair. Have a seat." Zack's posture relaxed slightly as he sat down.

"Sleeping in class are we?" Lazard inquired.

"I apologize sir, I just couldn't focus," Zack said. _Great! You're never gonna get promoted at this rate._

Professor Hanson did admit though that your response to his question of whether a fast moving jeep or a tank would be more powerful in a battle was most impressive."

_Oh, THAT was the question_. "Uh, thanks?" Zack said questionably, rubbing his head with his right hand. He made sure his left shoulder didn't have to do any work.

"And Angeal said your performance on your first Second Class mission was exceptional."

"Thanks," Zack said again.

"But, back to your class response. What made you respond the way you did?" Lazred asked, leaning back in his chair, pinching his chin between his pointer finger and thumb.

"Personal experience," Zack blurted out. _NO!_

"Personal experience?"

"Uh, I meant, video games," Zack said.

"Right. Well, the Professor was quite disappointed in your sleeping, so please, don't let this happen again."

"Right," Zack saluted before hastily exiting the room.

"And one last thing," Lazard said. Zack spun around to look at him. "Please don't go around promoting that Hojo is crazy," Lazard smirked. Zack laughed.

"Sorry, sir!"

--

"Zack, your reply in tactics class, priceless!" Kunesl laughed as he clapped Zack on the shoulder. Zack's face scrunched up in pain. Kunsel proceeded to sit down across from Zack in the cafeteria, grabbing a french fry from Zack's tray. Zack was sitting alone in the cafeteria, he made it to dinner early due his deciding to skip the rest of military tactics class.

Kunsel noticed Zacks' screwed up face. "What's up?" He questioned.

"My, shoulder," Zack got out weakly.

"Aw come on! I didn't hit it that hard!"

"No, I was, shot," Zack's voice was still very high pitched and quiet.

"What?! When!?" Kunsel almost shouted. Zack held up his finger to quiet his friend.

"I was sent on a mission to stop a gang uprising in the slums," Zack told Kunsel.

"What? Already? You just got promoted!"

"I think Angeal wants to test me."

Kunsel grinned. "Nice! Ya know what that means." Zack nodded.

"I also met a girl," Zack smiled, thinking of Aerith.

"You dog!" Kunsel accused, but Zack shook his head.

"No man, this is _the _one. I know it!" Zack said.

"Sure," Kunsel said, rolling his eyes. "So which group of cadets do you get to teach?"

Zack checked his phone to look at his schedule. It read "7 : 15, Cadets Class One."

"Cadet Class One," Zack said.

"You're assigned the top Cadet Class? I only got Five,"

"Class Four," A sing songy voice rang out. It was John, and he sat down next to Zack.

"Six" Anthony said. Zack laughed as he sat down on the opposite side of him. John and Anthony were inseparable, they were like brothers. _Like Cloud and I . . ._

"Zack's teaching Class One," Kunsel announced. Anthony and John both gawked at him, causing the raven-haired teen to laugh even harder.

"For real!?" Anthony asked incredulously.

"Yup, should be fun," Zack said, rolling his eyes.

"Dang, why don't I get as high as rankings as you do?" John complained to himself.

"Because dummie," Anthony said smacking him in the head, "You aren't as good as Zack!"

"Oh yea," John grinned.

"I gotta go make a phone call," Zack told his friends, sliding his unfinished burger across the table to Kunsel. He decided that after meeting Aerith for the first time after coming back, he wasn't that hungry. Actually, all he could really think about was her.

"To who?" Anthony questioned.

"Your girl?" Kunsel asked, smirking.

As Zack walked away, he was met with mocking cat-calls from his friends. He chuckled as he headed down the hallway, trying to find a place quiet enough to call Aerith from.

_Wait. I don't have her number . . . dang it!_

Zack stared at his phone disappointedly, then almost dropped it as it began to vibrate in his hand. The number read _867-5309_.

_Aerith! Thank you Minerva!_ Zack cheered silently to himself.

"Hey," Zack said as he brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hi Zack!" Aerith's voice rang out through the speaker.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Well, um, when do you want to build that flower wagon?" She asked. Zack could tell she was embarrassed to ask. He knew every different inflection in her voice and how she felt when she used each one. _Now that I think about it, that's kinda creepy._

"Um, how about tomorrow? Say around one? I'm free then!" Zack said. _Great! I get to see Aerith tomorrow!_

A short silence followed Zack's question, before Aerith replied with, "Okay! I'll in my church, can you remember where that is?" she asked.

_I know the Sector Five slums like the back of my hand_ Zack thought, but he didn't say that to Aerith. "I'll try," Zack said, grinning.

"Okay!" Aerith cheered.

"So, I'll see ya tomorrow?"

"Bye!" Zack hung up after Aerith said that. He couldn't wait until the next day. It was only eight p.m., but Zack decided the sooner he went to bed, the sooner he could have fun tomorrow.

_Please say no one in Cadet Class One is too annoying . . ._

_--_

**No, Cloud, is not in Cadet Class One.**

**I will say this though. Soon, there will be shifts in time, so we may skip a couple months because I know going just day by day will eventually get dull.**

**I hope Zack was convincing with Aerith, and I captured Director Lazard's character correctly!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	6. Slipping Slowly Away

**First off, I apologize that this chapter is oh so short. The last one was long, so deal with it :P. Seriously though, I was just really busy today, but I wanted to keep up my "once a day" updating and managed to fit this in for today.**

**Thanks to all the reviewers out there, I know I replied, but thanks again!**

**Inspired by Illusor Meaneld's _Once More, With Feeling_**

**I don't own FFVII.**

--

"Have fun with your Class One," Kunsel smirked. He gave Zack a quick high five, which was met with enthusiasm.

"Oh, I will," Zack said. As he and his friend parted ways to go to their respected classes to teach, Zack laughed inwardly. _Class Five, that'll be fun for Kunsel. Man, when I had to teach them, they were a bunch of dolts!_

As the door slid open, Zack stepped in, expecting stares of awe in his direction. He was sadly mistaken. Instead, a spitball hit him in the side of the face, and it refused to come off. Zack looked like an idiot as he rubbed his cheek, and the class laughed at him.

"Who was that?" Zack asked the class, his usually fast-talking voice replaced with a much deeper, slower one.

There was no response to his question, but one kid did shout. "Yo, why should we listen to ya? You're like, a year older than us!" _Oh yea, I forgot. Class Five were the dolts. Class One were the assholes . . . I don't remember me being such a jerk in, unless you count that time I shot that spitball at Angeal, but whatever._

"Because I could kick your ass in two seconds flat," Zack replied in stride as he walked over to the small table that sat in the corner of the room. He picked up the attendance sheet at glanced down at the names.

"I'd like to see you try!" The kid retorted. _Great, an arrogant punk._

"What's your name?" Zack asked.

"Roman Tiesto," the kid replied.

"Roman Tiesto," Zack said, raising a finger at him, "shut the hell up."

"Have fun with that," Roman snorted, crossing his arms.

"Okay!" Zack announced, clapping his hands together. "Let's get into groups of two. Private Tiesto, you can partner with me."

The younger teen glared daggers at Zack, who just gave a wicked grin in return.

"Now I'm sure you've learned basic attacks and defenses, so go ahead and do those, and I'll watch," turning to Roman, he said, "Okay, attack me,"

Roman looked annoyed, which was exactly what Zack wanted. _Have fun focusing tough guy. _Roman swung at Zack, and while the boy held obvious power, he was too slow. Zack easily sidestepped the attack and rapped Roman in the shin, hard, before smacking on the back with the flat edge of his sword.

"Now see class, you don't want to do what Roman did. Roman is stupid, he thinks that he can overpower me. Never be too cocky." _I learned that the hard way from Angeal. _Zack didn't notice that Roman slowly got to his feet and stumbled about until crashing into a while, sliding down into a sitting stance.

He was met with a chorus of "Yes sirs." Zack proceeded to walk around the room, watching the kids work. He pushed an elbow up in some kid's cases, in order to give them a stronger parry, or bent a knee for another kid so he'd have a better center of balance.

_I'm impressed, there's not much to teach 'em for the basics.  
_

Zack raised his hands to stop the boys, when a voice blared over the intercom, intermixed with static. "Zackary Fair, please report to Lieutenant Angeal Hewley's office."

"Um, continue," Zack told the boys before quietly slipping out of the room. He could feel their stares as he left, but he shook them off. _What did I do wrong? Ah well, nothing I can't talk myself out of right? Angeal's little puppy!_

--

"Zack," Angeal sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers, "you can't just beat up your students!"

"Wha? How'd you know!" Zack asked, sitting up suddenly and almost falling out his chair in the process.

"We have cameras. Again Zack, you can't give your students concussions!"

"Yea, but," Zack began.

"No buts. You are supposed to teach them, not scare the living daylights out of them!"

"He provoked me . . ." Zack complained, slumping down onto Angeal's desk.

"It doesn't matter! Zack, you are much stronger than them! You can't just spar with them!" Angeal's voice was still exasperated, but he was wearing the slightest smirk.

"He was an asshole," Zack whispered.

"Pup," Angeal said, making Zack look up. "you're sixteen. Act like it."

Zack groaned, climbing out of the chair, scraping his boots along the back of it as he vaulted over it.

"Please don't ruin my chair Zackary."

Zack grinned. He was back to himself. Nothing could deter him for too long. "So, whaddya I do now?"

"You _should _go back and finish teaching, but a veteran Second is now covering for you. Maybe a errand for Hojo should teach you not to do something like that again?" Angeal was joking, but Zack didn't care.

"No." Zack's voice was cold and full of pure hatred. _If I go anywhere near that man, I'll kill him._

"What?" Angeal asked, raising an eyebrow at Zack, curious. _Did he just outright defy me?_

"I said no. I won't go down to Hojo," Zack repeated, his vocal cords still wearing that unfitting voice.

"Why not?" Angeal said. He was beyond curious now. This new Zack was a mystery, and Angeal wanted to know the answer behind it.

"We have a history," Zack muttered, his voice barely audible.

"Wait . . ." Angeal whispered, realization dawning on him. "Did he, rape you?" Angeal's fists were clenched. He knew Hojo was crazy, but this would get him fired on the spot. He couldn't believe Hojo would do something like that. Angeal was about to stand up, but . . .

"WHAT?!" Zack shrieked, his voice suddenly incredibly high-pitched. "NO! Dear Gaia no! Geez Angeal, do you think I'm like five? No offense but I could snap that dude like a twig." Zack's voice was now back to normal, and he was laughing.

The cold Zack was only there for an instant, but it felt like a lifetime to Angeal.

"Then what?" Angeal asked, but either Zack didn't hear him, or he didn't want to answer.

"I'm going down to see the girl I was telling you about, please, please, don't call me!" Only Zack's head peeked out from behind the door frame, and as soon as he was finished speaking, the head was gone and Angeal could hear his student's boots slapping against the tile floor as he bounded down the hallway to the stairs.

--

_Oh man, I almost let it slip there. That, was, close. _Zack thought as he slid down the railing of the stairwell of the Shinra building. It was an old tradition of his, and he was nearly perfect at it. He didn't care to use the elevator, in case it broke. _What if I was trapped with a fat dude, and he farted!?_ and he was too lazy to climb down the forty-nine flights of stairs, so he slid down the railing.

He only fell once, but that was back then, back before everything happened. Luckily that time Angeal caught him before he completely lost balance.

He didn't fall this time, and as he burst through the back door of the Shinra building, he gulped in the fresh air, he thought about how thankful he was to be out of the Shinra building. It just wasn't the same as it was before. _I don't know if that's I know where everything is, or the memories here, but, oh man I love the fresh air. _He yelled "HERE I COME AERITTTTTTHHHHH!" at the top of his lungs as he skipped down the street.

He ignored the looks he received from people.

_Once you're in love, you'll know what I'm feeling _he silently said to everyone, grinning like a madman to himself.

--

**I know that last part was really random, but I really, really, really wanted to make Zack look like an idiot to the public!**

**Now Angeal's suspicious, but will Zack manage to keep his secret.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter of _Yesterday, Again_! (wow that was cheesy).**

**Any and all reviews are appreciated.**

**-The Lone Wanderer**


	7. Black Suits

**I failed my "update a day" plan! And I'm sorry, it's just two school projects were screwing me over and I really needed to get them done (they were due today). But now this chapter is up, and hopefully I can go back to the "update a day" plan. **

**Thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter, reading those makes my day!**

**I don't own FFVII.**

**Inspired by Illusor Meaneld's _Once More, With Feeling_  
**

**Enjoy!**

--

"She's not in there," A voice Zack recognized said just as he began to open the old wooden doors that led to Aerith's church.

Zack spun around, and came face to face with Tseng. Zack crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Oh yea? Where is she?" He didn't even bother asking Tseng how he knew he was looking for Aerith, he was sure Rude had already told him.

Tseng straightened his tie and let out a little cough. "Classified."

"Tell me," Zack ordered, uncrossing his arms.

"My my," Tseng said with a slight smirk, "Why does a Second Class SOLDIER have such an interest in a mere flower girl?"

"I like her. But I know why you guys are interested in her. She's the last Ancient." Zack didn't care that he was disclosing information he wasn't supposed to know. It was worth it to see Tseng's expression. His eyes widened and his body tensed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Please, come with me," Tseng told Zack, who rolled his eyes while placing his hands on top of his head.

"Whatever," Zack said, following the Turk down the stairs of the church, "Whateeeeeever."

--

"How much do you know?" Tseng asked as he and Zack walked down the streets of the slums.

"Classified," Zack smirked, his voice imitating Tseng's.

Tseng let out a small chuckle, but expertly covered it with a cough. "How do you know that Aerith is an Ancient?"

"You don't wanna know. Hey Reno," Zack turned his attention to a lanky young man with fiery red hair who hopped down from a firescape.

"Damn, yo. You're good. And how'dya know my name?" Reno stood with a slouch, his hair piling down onto his face. A pair of goggles attempted to hold his unkempt hair in place, but it was failing miserably. His jacket was unzipped, and the top few buttons of his shirt were missing. A pair of crimson crescent tattoos outlined his aquamarine eyes. Standing next to Tseng, people wouldn't even associate the two with each other if not for the trademark Turk black suit.

"SOLDIER, through and through," Zack grinned. His mood couldn't help but lighten when the red-head was around, the guy was just too much of a goofball.

"Nah, only SOLDIER Firsts have those wicked crazy senses," Reno said as he glanced up and down at Zack's uniform. "You're a Second."

"Yes," Tseng said, turning to Zack. "I'm quite impressed. Reno is usually our top stealth operative, and you found him out in a second. Anything you'd like to share?" Tseng's eyes looked suspicious, but Zack waved it off, instead, throwing another curveball question at the pair of Turks.

"Really? I thought Cissnei was the covert-ops expert." Both Turks looked dumbstruck, and Zack laughed at their expense.

"How do you know all of this?" Tseng asked. _Probably, should've thought this through . . . ah well, I'll get in trouble, but it's better than them finding out about my secret._

"I hack into the Shinra computers," Zack lied.

"You do know that's against compan -"

"I like this guy!" Reno interrupted, throwing his arm around Zack. "Yo, we need to chill sometime. You ever get into Hojo's computer?"

"I know more than I want," Zack replied, his voice changing suddenly.

"Hell, yes! Told ya Hojo was a freak, Tseng!" Reno laughed, shaking the raven-haired teen back and forth. "Yo, how old are ya?" He asked.

"Sixteen."

"Seventeen. Whoah! We definitely need to chill sometime!" Reno was now practically shaking with excitement.

"Anyway," Tseng said, trying to veer Reno back on track, "What is your name . . . Corporal?" Tseng asked as he looked at the insignia that decorated Zack's right shoulder pad.

"Zack Fair," Zack said, sticking his hand out to shake Tseng's. Tseng took his hand and tentatively shook.

--

Needless to say, Zack never saw Aerith that afternoon. As he, Reno, and Tseng walked back to the Shinra building, he repeatedly pestered the Turk about the whereabouts of his "girlfriend" but Tseng refused to budge. He did however, agree to keep Zack's "hacking" a secret as long as he didn't tell anyone else about any of the company's secrets. Zack agreed.

--

Dinner was once again loud, much like it usually was, and Zack sat with Kunsel, John, and Anthony again, only this time they were joined by Essai and another SOLDIER named Sebastian.

Kunsel was in the middle of a story about how one of his Cadets passed out from nervousness today in class when Zack was quietly tapped on the shoulder.

He turned to see Roman standing there, his head bandaged up. "Sir, I apologize for my actions earlier, they were uncalled for and I deserved my punishment," he said meekly.

Zack's eyes hardened at the boy for a minute. _Oh come on Fair, you were like that once!_ "It's okay man, I know what's like to be in your first class. It's stressful, and it happens. Be there tomorrow though and ready to learn how to kick some butt!" Zack ended with an arm pump, and Roman grinned at him.

"Yes sir!" Roman said before saluting Zack. Zack cheekily saluted back as the Cadet wandered away.

"Cadet troubles?" John asked with a grin.

"Just a little," Zack grinned back. "It's better now, just the alpha dog syndrome, ya know?" All the boys at the table muttered an agreement; they remembered how Cadet class used to be.

--

"Sephiroth," Angeal said as he stood at the foot of the General's desk, arms crossed with the Buster Sword strapped across his back.

"Angeal," Sephiroth said back.

"Genesis," Genesis muttered, smirking, looking up from reading _Loveless_. Both other men looked at him, annoyed, but couldn't help but smirking themselves.

"Sephiroth, do you have a complete file on Corporal Zackary Fair?" Angeal asked.

"You have access to the SOLDIER database Angeal, anything about the SOLDIERs I have, you have," Sephiroth responded.

"I was just checking, because I was looking at his file again for clarification on something, and it says that the only contact he's had with the Science Department being for the normal mako injections," Angeal said.

Genesis snapped _Loveless _shut to speak. "Why are you concerned?"

"Today, when I was lecturing Zack about beating his students," He ignored the chuckles he received from his friends, "I made a joke about Hojo, and Zack instantly turned cold. When asked, he just told me they 'had a history'."

"Hmm," Sephiroth said to himself, drumming his fingers against his wooden desk. "And why do you hold an interest this? Many SOLDIERs dislike Hojo, myself included."

"It was just such a drastic change in Zack's disposition, I was worried. I don't know if he's suffering from depression, and that caused the outlash against the student."

Genesis interjected, saying, "Maybe his student was disbehaving and Corporal Fair was getting annoyed?"

"It's just so uncharacteristic of him," Angeal muttered to himself.

"Well, order a psychiatrist appointment for him, Gaia knows we have enough on staff here," Sephiroth said.

"I think I may do that, hopefully it'll help," Angeal said. "And both of you, you should see Zack in a fight. He fights like a First. Tactics-wise at least. He doesn't have the strength, but I was surprised. He became exponentially better, literally overnight."

Genesis leaned back in his chair. "Do you think, that and Hojo, have a connection?" Genesis asked. It was a rhetorical question, and no one replied.

The only sound that could be heard was the beeps of Angeal's PHS as he typed a message to the Shinra Health Department, and then his Puppy.

--

"A WHAT?!" Zack yelled as he looked at his PHS.

"What is it?" Kunsel asked, leaning over his friend's shoulder.

"I have a freakin' psychiatrist appointment this weekend! Angeal thinks I'm depressed!" Zack said incredulously. _How am I acting depressed? If anything, I'd think I'm happier than usual, I mean, I feel the pressure, but does it really show that much?_

"And how does that make you feel?" Anthony asked as he crossed his legs and leaned in. John laughed with his best friend as Zack shoved Anthony backwards, almost making him fall over.

"Whatever," Zack said. He turned his attention to Essai, asking, "How goes the training?"

"Great!" Essai exclaimed. "Sebastian and I have been working here, and we're sure I'll make it into Second next test!"

"Great," Zack grinned at his friend, then received a piece of food hitting him in the face as retaliation from Anthony.

--

**Well, we introduce two critical characters to this story, Reno and Tseng. Zack let a big secret out, and even though Tseng said he wouldn't share Zack's secret of "hacking" will his loyalties with Shinra be stronger than his budding friendship with Zack?**

**Genesis was tough to write, as I don't really know his character beyond his crazy-ness in CC and his cameo in DoC, so I'm taking some creative liberties :P**

**Angeal is still suspicious, and now Zack has a psychiatrist appointment? Next chapter will mostly be comic relief, but with some serious points.**

**In only a few more chapters Zack will finally begin to change the future!**

**Reviews are appreciated!**

**I'll do my best to update tomorrow!**

**-The Lone Wanderer**


	8. New Cadets

**After some contemplation, I didn't to skip the whole psychiatrist meeting in order to get a certain blond in this chapter. Some major things happen this chapter, and Zack is finally starting to change the future. **

**Thank you everyone who reviewed (I'm replying to them now).**

**I don't own FFVII.**

**Inspired by Illusor Meaneld's _Once More, With Feeling_  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

--

Zack stared at Angeal, his eyes wide, doing his best not to blink. Angeal stared straight back, not blinking either. Eventually Zack couldn't handle it anymore and slapped the desk, looking away.

"Seriously, Angeal. What the hell!?" Zack cried, spinning around in his chair.

"Zack, what are you talking about?" Angeal asked, resting his chin on his fists as he stared at his student.

"A psychiatrist, really? You think I'm depressed?" Zack asked, annoyed.

"Well, not necessarily depressed, but you seem to have bipolar tendencies."

Zack stood up at that, and placed his hands on Angeal's desk. "Seriously, bipolar?"

"Last time we talked, you had a mood swing when we discussed Hojo . . ." Angeal said quietly, expecting Zack's mood to change again.

_Oh man, that's what this is about? Zack, you need to hide your emotions! _He was never good at that, but he figured know was as good a time as any to learn.

Zack forced a laugh, and said, "Oh man, I got you good! You fell for that! I was jus' jokin'!"

"Really?" Angeal questioned. He could tell Zack was straining to act cheerful, but he wanted to see exactly how far Zack would go.

"Of course," Zack said, his laugh a little loud to be convincing, "Why would I be mad at Hojo? That s.o.b. May be crazy but he doesn't scare the Zack Attack!" Zack pounded his chest with his fist in pride.

"Then, will you please take this to Hojo?" Angeal said, revealing a file. Zack's face fell instantly, but he managed to fake a smile quickly.

"Of course!" Zack said through gritted teeth, but he continued to act happy.

"Thank you. Dismissed." Angeal said, leaving Zack to walk out of the room, the folder loosely dangling at his side.

Angeal turned his chair to face his computer, before typing a quick e-mail to Sephiroth.

_Hmmm . . . agreed to go see Hojo, but faked happiness about it. I'll continue to watch. _

_-Angeal_

--

_I'm not going to see Hojo _Zack determined, so he wandered the halls of the Shinra building looking for a solution.

He found one in a certain red-headed Turk.

"Reno!" Zack called, waving him over once he got his attention.

"Yo, Fair. Who woulda thunk I would see ya again so soon?" Reno chuckled, giving a Zack a quick high five.

"Yea, surprise," Zack said quickly, waving his arms in mock excitement. "Look, I need you to do me a favor. This file needs to get to Hojo, can you it for me?"

"No man! I don't wanna see that freak!" Reno said, backing away.

"Come on!", Zack said, taking a step forward. He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a wad of Gil. "Here, I'll give you this," Zack said. _Dang it, and I really wanted to take Aerith to a nice lunch, but that'll be tough, I'm not sure Tseng exactly trusts me . . ._

Reno took the Gil out of Zack's hands, and began to finger through it, counting to himself. "Hmm, ya got yourself a deal!" Reno said, this time grabbing the file from Zack's hand, and took off before Zack could say anything else.

"Thank you," Zack muttered to himself. He rubbed his eyes, suddenly noticing how tired he was. He did do a lot.

That day, Zack taught a class, encountered the Turks, was lectured by Angeal, twice, and almost delivered something to Hojo.

_I'm going to bed._

--

**Three months later**

--

"Heya, Zack, you're wanted in Director Lazard's office," Kunsel said, peeking into the workout room before heading off again.

Zack stood up fully, finished with his squats, and wiped his brow with the towel he brought with him.

_Hmm, wonder what it's for_.

--

Lazard looked across his desk at Zack, who was sitting in an armchair, his leg tapping impatiently. Angeal sat in another chair in the corner of the room, observing.

"Zackary Fair, let us go over your track record in your career as a SOLDIER Second. You have been on multiple missions, commanding a small squad of SOLDIER Thirds underneath you. You have done an exceptional job each time, and completed the missions with near perfection. Your written tests are perfect, and your physical examinations have also been in tip-top shape," he ignored the giggle from Zack when he used "tip-top". "Every single Cadet in Cadet Class One made it into SOLDIER, some even doing well enough to go straight into Second. You are clearly one of the best SOLDIER's we've had in a long time, and many younger SOLDIERs have come to admire you. Although your test scores are phenomenal for your age, and you show experience beyond your years, which, I find odd, but I am not one to question talent. Zack, you have been promoted to SOLDIER First Class." Zack let out a whoop, and Lazard smiled at the teen's genuine happiness. "You can thank your mentor, Angeal."

"Though I didn't teach him much," Angeal said. Zack hopped on top of him, yelling incoherently. Angeal shoved Zack off, but he too was smiling.

"Zack," Lazard said, trying to get his attention. "We have a new wave of potential Cadets coming in today. Genesis and Sephiroth are both on a mission, so I would appreciate it if you could welcome them."

"Is that why I was promoted?" Zack asked with a smirk. "To take care of the newbies?"

"Exactly," Lazard said, smirking.

"Oh, one last thing," Zack asked before leaving. "Now that I'm First, can I take on a student of my own?"

"If you find one you feel has potential, go for it," Lazard said. Zack's face brightened.

"And uh, what's the date?"

"June Seventh," Angeal replied.

_The Cadet class around June Seventh was . . . CLOUD!_

--

Zack, feeling quite content in his new SOLIDER First uniform, which was much more comfortable than the standard Second uniform, stood in front of the hundred soldiers, who stood with stiff salutes.

"At ease," Zack said, and couldn't help but smile at the tense group in front of him. The boys loosened up considerably, and some began to chatter among themselves.

"All right, go ahead and chat, which some of you are already doing," Zack said. The noise stopped instantly. "I'm a new First, just got promoted today, so uh, I don't really know what I'm doing," _I've only done this once before, and I need to find Cloud!_ "So just talk while I come around and meet all of you."

Zack descended the stairs, and looked around for anyone who could resemble Cloud. _Hm, he said he didn't have many friends, so look for someone alone, and slouched maybe? Spike never did have much self-confidence . . ._ Zack's thoughts trailed off, reminiscing about times he had with his best friend, but they stopped as soon as he saw a boy who was in fact off by himself, and looked nervous. Zack walked across the room, excusing himself whenever he ran into a Cadet, trying to contain his excitement. _This is him!_

He stopped in front of the potential Cloud, and asked, "So, you wanna be in SOLDIER?"

"Yes," came the quiet reply. _Spike!_

"Cloud!" Zack whispered, his voice excited.

The boy shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, how do you know me, sir?" _Yup, definitely Cloud!_

"I've watched you guys practice, and I was told the boy with the chocobo hair was Cloud Strife," Zack lied.

"I'm wearing my helmet," Cloud responded.

"Oh. Uh, well, take it off!" Zack said. Cloud quickly tore it off, trying to appease his superior. Zack laughed at his franticness. He ruffled the blond spikes that poked up even after being squashed from the helmet. "See, I was right!"

"Um, okay," Cloud mumbled, awkwardly trying to move his head away from Zack's hand.

"Hey, could you come with me for a sec? I have an offer for ya!" Zack said. Cloud didn't say anything, but followed Zack out of the room. _He's probably afraid to say no! Poor Spike._

Once the two were into the hallway and it was quiet, Zack leaned against the wall, and said to Cloud, "Do you have any interested to be privately trained by me? You'll have a guaranteed spot in SOLDIER and I'll be the best teacher ya can get!"

Cloud did a double-take, and Zack grinned. "Why me? My teachers told me I wouldn't be able to get into SOLDIER . . ." Cloud's voice suddenly got quiet.

Zack cuffed him on the shoulder, and shook him a little. "Yea yea, ya got problems with mako injections. So, we'll give it to ya slowly, and you'll be okay!

Cloud looked unsure, but he wasn't about to reject an offer to get mentored by a SOLDIER First . . . even if he was a little young. "Okay," Cloud smiled. Zack grinned back.

--

Angeal sighed, staring at the mass of Cadets talking animatedly.

_I'm sparring with Zack tomorrow, and I swear, I am going to kick his ass._

_--_

**So, Cloud is here! Genesis and Sephiroth have an absence this chapter, but they'll be back. Remember, Zack has to keep Genesis from defecting!**

**I know there isn't much "Hmm Zack's super good," but it's all going on behind the scenes, and it will come out soon.**

**Genesis will be in next chapter, as well as Aerith, and a little Cloud and Angeal for good measure.**

**Reviews are great!**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	9. Hollander

**Man, what was up with FanFiction for the week? I couldn't sign in or anything, and that's why there has been a lack of updates. This chapter is slightly longer than the past couple, so hopefully you guys like that!**

**Update a day thing has basically crashed and burned, but I'll still do my best to update frequently! **

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, remember, reviews, flames, anything is fun to read!**

**I don't own FFVII.**

**Inspired by Illusor Meaneld's _Once More, With Feeling_**

**And here, we, go!  
**

--

Zack caught the handle of his duffel bag between his teeth as he fumbled for the key he received for his new First Class suite. Fitting the key into the lock, the door unlocked with a click and swung open. "Welcome to your new home," Zack said with a grin as Cloud followed him nervously inside.

"Aren't I supposed to sleep in the barracks?" Cloud asked, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. He still didn't understand why Zack had taken an interest to him.

_And get made fun of? Not on my watch_. "Well, since you're bein' privately trained by me, I can pull a few strings and you'll be fine."

"Oh . . . okay," Cloud said, but he sounded unsure, and Zack noticed.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine! I just need to lay down some ground rules." Cloud's eyes widened, and Zack laughed at the blond. "Don't worry! It's only a couple rules. First, you will go to each and every one of your classes, and I will train you in your free periods. Second, you will stay _away_ from the Science Department. Third, you will always refer to me as 'Daddy'."

"Um, okay . . . Daddy," Cloud said, looking down and away from Zack.

Zack couldn't help but burst out laughing as he slapped Cloud on the back. "I'm kiddin'! I don't want ya calling me Daddy, I already got a girl." A timid smile crawled across Cloud's face when he looked into Zack's bright violet eyes. "But hey, enough chit-chat, I'm beat. Being promoted to First Class and watchin' a ton of Cadets sure takes it outta ya! Night!"

Before Cloud could say a word, Zack was already in the main bedroom and on the bed. Cloud uncertainly scooted over into what looked like the guest bedroom, and only after folding his clothes up and writing a letter to his mother to inform her that he had seemingly made it into SOLDIER, he went to bed.

--

Cloud rubbed his eyes as he heard something that sounded like a dying cat singing in the other room. He pulled his pillow back over his head, but it didn't help. The dying cat would not let him go back to sleep. With a groan, Cloud slumped out of bed and across the room, opening the door to yell at whoever was making that horrendous noise.

"Shut up!" Cloud yelled, and was met with a piece of egg hitting his cheek. He heard laughter, and the dying cat noise stopped.

"Come on Spike, can't I sing?" Zack sang, flipping what appeared to be an egg over a frying pan. Orange juice and milk sat in pitchers on the table, and a plate of pancakes was there as well.

"You're cooking?" Cloud asked.

"Yup, my ma taught me how! Have seat and eat up!" Zack ordered, and Cloud couldn't help but smile as he sat down. Zack piled the eggs onto a plate and wandered over to the table as well and placed the plate down. He looked across to Cloud, and saw his eyes. _Blue, before enhanced with the mako . . . damn you Hojo_.

"Don't forget Cloudy, you have class today, and I'm sparring with Angeal!" Zack grinned. It was clear he was a morning person, the complete opposite of Cloud.

"Well, thanks for breakfast," Cloud said as he ate a mouthful of pancakes.

"Welcome," Zack replied, eggs spilling from his mouth as he grinned. _Good, it seems like Cloud's feeling more comfortable around me_.

--

"You invited Fair to train with us?" Sephiroth asked as he leaned against the wall in the Simulation Room.

"He's a First now, and he used to be my student. I figured he should be able to keep himself from being killed. And, he let the Cadets wander the building yesterday."

"He's been a First for less than a full day," Genesis pointed out.

"Then he can be on Sephiroth's side," Angeal smirked. Sephiroth mockingly groaned, and the three chuckled.

"Ooooh, a joke?" Zack asked as he entered the room.

"Not so much," Sephiroth was the first to regain his composure. He straightened up, and walked over to the training console to set up the environment.

"Okay," Zack shrugged, then turned to Genesis, spreading his arms, "First Class now! How about that study group Genesis?" Angeal snorted, and Genesis glared at him.

"I don't think I'll have time," Genesis said, hoping it would quiet the teen.

"You're loss," Zack said with a grin.

"Okay Zack, we are going to do a tag-team training. You will be with Sephiroth, and Genesis and I will work together."

_This is the day Sephiroth was explaining to me! I have to make sure Genesis doesn't get cut! _"Got it," Zack turned to Sephiroth. "Looks like we're teammates!"

"Yes, it appears that way," Sephiroth said.

"Well, let's get started." Genesis said, pocketing his copy of _Loveless_.

--

Zack looked around at the construct they were standing on. _Just like Sephiroth described . . ._

"Ready?" Angeal called, pulling out a generic SOLDIER sword.

Sephiroth glanced at Zack. "Are you ready?" he asked. Zack nodded, grinning.

"Yes," Sephiroth called back.

--

Angeal and Genesis were both fast, but Sephiroth was faster. They both swung at the silver-haired SOLDIER, and he brought his Masamune up in a graceful arc to deflect both.

Zack leapt at them, and Angeal turned around to meet him. Their swords clashed, and Zack grinned as sparks flew up between the two of them. Angeal's lips curled upward into a smile as he pushed Zack back. Zack flipped and landed on his feet. _Man, Angeal's strong!_

Angeal was back at Sephiroth, who was defending himself quite competently against the two other Firsts. Zack was about to jump up after them, when the three descended to the ground.

"Angeal, I'll take Sephiroth alone," Genesis said.

"Zack, stay back," Sephiroth ordered. Zack stood behind Sephiroth and watched as Genesis engulfed his sword in flames. The two went at it on the ground until Sephiroth jumped into the air, and Genesis followed.

Zack ran over to Angeal. "We have to stop them!" He yelled over the explosion above him. Genesis was shooting fireballs at Sephiroth, who was doing his best to slash them away.

"They'll destroy us all," Angeal said, then leapt after Genesis. Zack watched as Genesis blasted a fireball into Angeal's face. That broke Genesis's concentration for a split second, allowing Sephiroth to escape the fire, and attack Genesis. Sephiroth unleashed a beam of energy from his sword, and Zack had to jump back to avoid getting cut in half. The structure under him began to fall, and he ran back to avoid falling into the ocean.

"Zack, help!" Angeal shouted as he ran towards the two, intending to stop them. Zack followed, and leapt in front of Sephiroth as Angeal blocked Genesis. "Stop!" Angeal yelled at the two.

"Out of my way!" Genesis shouted back, and attempted to push Angeal out of the way. Sephiroth released the pressure he was putting on Zack's sword, and Zack turned to Genesis. At that moment Angeal's sword broke in half, and Zack shoved Genesis out of the way as the blade came down on his left shoulder.

_Why does my left shoulder take all the beating?_

"Zack!" Angeal cried as Zack fell down to one knee.

Zack grunted, standing up. "Ungh, I'll be fine, I just need to see a doctor." He turned to leave the Simulation Room, but he stumbled and Sephiroth caught him.

"Lieutenant Fair, I will escort you to the infirmary, you will see Doctor Hollander."

_Hollander, crap._

--

"You'll need a transfusion," Hollander informed Zack, his gravelly voice echoing through the room. "The wound, mako has seeped into it, and that is causing the problem." It had been two days since the incident, and Zack had yet to be released from the infirmary.

He managed to send Cloud a mail telling him what happened, and to use anything in the room he deemed necessary. Cloud thanked him and offered to come visit, but Zack told him he'd be out soon and it wouldn't be necessary. _Now I wish I told him to come visit, I'm soooo bored!_

"Great, who's my donor?" Zack asked. The bandages on his shoulder were slightly damp, and Zack plastered a towel over them to try and stop the bleeding, though he knew it wouldn't help.

"Sephiroth has volunteered," Hollander said.

"Sephiroth?" Hollander ignored the question.

"I am about to inject some anesthesia into you, and when you wake up, you should be all better." Hollander stuck a needle into Zack's neck, and he began to feel drowsy.

"Thanks," Zack said, his eyelids drooping, followed by him drifting to sleep.

--

Zack awoke back in his own bed in his apartment. Cloud was staring at him, sitting in a chair in the corner.

"Heya!" Zack grinned, waving to the blond.

"You're awake, good." Cloud said, smiling. "The doctor said you should be up today."

"I'm good as new, am I allowed to leave?" Zack asked, sitting up.

"I think so. Angeal told me to tell you you are on a week vacation." Cloud said, standing up to help Zack out of bed.

"Awesome. Cloud, you're gonna meet a friend of mine today!" _I hope Aerith is in her church today._

--

Aerith was in her church, tending to her flowers when Zack and Cloud arrived. "Guess what Aerith, I made First!" Zack smiled at her.

"Wait, First? Are you in SOLDIER?" she asked, her eyes suddenly full of fear.

Zack rubbed his head awkwardly. _Uh-oh. Aerith's afraid of SOLDIERs . . ._ "Um, yea."

"But, I thought SOLDIERs were scary," Aerith's eyes suddenly changed from containing fear to holding confusion. Zack laughed.

"Only Sephiroth, he has no emotion!" Zack grinned as he threw an arm around Aerith. "And Cloud," he said, gesturing to Cloud, who was now sitting on a pew, hands awkwardly placed in his lap.

"Cloud?" She asked. Cloud quickly stood up and stuck a hand straight out to shake. She took it, smiling at Cloud, who blushed and turned back around.

"He's not too good with the ladies," Zack whispered in Aerith's ear, and she giggled in return.

"I heard that!" Cloud shouted, spinning around, his blush now gone.

"Kidding!" Zack laughed, before letting go of Aerith and pinching Cloud's cheeks. "Of course the girls love you! You're a cute little Cloudy Woudly!" Cloud squirmed under Zack grips, but the raven-haired teen refused to let go. "You're sooooo cute!" Cloud finally pushed backwards, and stumbled, which resulted in Aerith rushing to his side and Zack doubled over in laughter.

"Zack! Don't be mean!" She scolded.

"Sorry," Zack smirked, squatting to say to Cloud. "Ya know I jokin' right?"

"Yea," Cloud said, a slight smile creeping across his face. It turned into a full fledged grin as he tackled Zack, who rolled over under the blond's weight, but managed to push him off easily. "Cloud, a Cadet has no chance against a First Class! Specially one who weighs 30 pounds!"

Cloud scowled at Zack, but it quickly turned into a smile. "But you're going to teach me right?"

"Yup," Zack grinned, then said to Aerith, "Cloud and I are gonna make you the best flower wagon ever!"

"All right!"

"Let's go Cloudy!" Zack grabbed Cloud and dragged him out of the church, into the slums. "Now, we gotta make it _cute_."

"Cute?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Yea, I figured you'd know what that'd look like."

"Zack, 'cute' isn't like 'blue'. It depends on what the person likes."

"Oh, well uh, let's make it pink! Girls like pink right?" Cloud sighed at Zack, but nonetheless followed him into the junkyard that surrounded the church to help him look for supplies.

--

**First time Zack has actually changed something we saw in the game! I know that fight wasn't too descriptive, but I figured you guys all knew what happened. If not, YouTube Genesis vs. Angeal vs. Sephiroth, it's a great fight scene!**

**I don't have school tomorrow, so hopefully an update can become produced from that, but who knows?**

**Next chapter. Cloud and Zack's flower wagon is produced, and Tseng has a talk with Zack!  
**


	10. Man to Man Talk

**Well, I decided since I've was updating so quickly, it was time for a change of pace! *sigh* Kidding. Seriously, I apologize sincerely and I feel really bad for leaving you hanging for over a month when I said I would update the next day.**

**I've been really busy with a multitude of stuff, mainly school assigning a ton of work to me. I've also had a horrible case of writer's block, and the only story idea I could think of for a while was a Pendragon / FF7 crossover, which never came to life, and probably never will until after this. However, in your review, if you know what Pendragon is and have an opinion on that, I'd love to hear it!**

**This chapter is short, but I've re-written it literally five times, and I really hope the quality makes up for the quantity.**

**I know I'm lame for taking so long, but I hope you guys don't hate me!**

**Inspired my Illusor Meneald's _Once More, With Feeling_**

_I don't own FF7._

_On with the show!_

_--_

The usual luxurious sheets of a SOLDIER First Class' apartment were like burlap sacks to Zack that evening. His mako blue eyes glowed with a bright light, but it went unnoticed in his empty room.

_I should just leave SOLDIER. Leave it and go live with Aerith. Just leave all this behind, and let it take it's natural course, see what happens without me._

Zack rolled over, buried his head into his pillow and groaned.

_No! I can't leave Cloud, or Angeal, or Sephiroth. They were my friends, and I have to keep Angeal alive and make sure Sephiroth doesn't go crazy. I have to help Genesis, but there seems to be no way to get close to him . . ._

Zack yanked his sheets off of him and threw his legs over his bed, his bare feet thumping on the carpeted ground. He was wearing nothing but boxers and pajama pants. It got too hot to wear a shirt, and no matter his efforts to change the temperature, the thermostat seemed broken.

He went into the bathroom and cranked the faucet in the shower, turning it on to full blast. Waiting for the water to warm up, Zack sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his eyes, even though he was wide awake.

Moments later, he heard a soft knocking on the door. "Zack?" a quiet voice called out.

"Heya Cloud. Come in," Zack replied, and then proceeded to lie down on the bed, bending his knees to fit his whole frame within the full length of the mattress.

Cloud tentatively opened the door, and Zack saw his unruly hair even more tangled than usual, and his eyes, shadowed by dark bags, carried a hint of sadness Zack knew only too well. He, contrasting Zack, was fully clothed with a pair of grey sweatpants and an overly baggy shirt.

"What's up?" Zack asked, tucking his hands behind his head, ready to listen.

"Just wondering what you were doing up at this hour," Cloud said, awkwardly scratching his arm.

Zack grinned back at him. "I could ask you the same thing. What's buggin' ya?"

"Nothing," Cloud said, but his eyes darting downward out of eye contact range told Zack otherwise.

"Come on," Zack said, urging Cloud to speak.

"Just thinking," Cloud said quietly.

"Me too. What're ya thinkin' about?" Zack now threw his arms forward, propelling him into a sitting up position. His arms rested on his knees, and his fingers intertwined as he began to twiddle his thumbs.

"Just about back home. I miss it." Cloud took a seat next to Zack, who nodded at the blond's statement.

"Yea, you get used to it. Don't worry, you'll make friends here." _I'll make sure that your stay at SOLDIER will be better than last time's._

"Hopefully. Hey, how'd you meet Aerith?" Cloud asked suddenly.

Zack laughed. "Well see, I fell into her chur --" Zack began, but he cut himself off suddenly. Cloud gave him a curious stare, but Zack started again before any questions could be asked. "Mission. I got shot and she found me. Took me back to her church and healed me."

"She seems nice."

"She is. Say Cloudy, do ya got a girl at home?" _Tifa_.

"Not really," Cloud said, shaking his head. Zack shoved him a little, almost pushing him off the bed, but Cloud caught himself. "Okay, well there's a girl named Tifa, but it was unrequited."

"I doubt that," Zack said. _She seemed awfully concerned at Nibelheim._

"She made fun of me," Cloud said seriously, "Except for this one time."

"Ah," Zack nodded. "I think ya should give her a call, tell her your feelings."

"Hell no," Cloud said. "And get shot down?"

"Come on, you gotta take a chance!" Zack was doing his best to egg Cloud on, but the blond didn't seem like he was going to budge.

"Look Zack, I'm not social like you. I don't get the girl, or make tons of friends. I'm the outcast. You're probably the only friend I'll have at this whole place."

"That's not true! Why wouldn't anyone want to be friends with you? Okay, you're shy, but you're nice, hella smart, and I ain't gay, but you ain't ugly. So I'm sure Tifa would give you a shot."

"Whatever," Cloud waved a hand dismissively towards Zack. He received a short, but rough noogie in response.

"Go get some sleep Spike. I'll see ya in the morning." Cloud quickly stood up and exited the room, turning around to give Zack a short smile that said 'thanks'.

Zack rolled off the bed and entered the bathroom to be encountered a blast of steam. The bathroom mirror was completely misted over, due the shower being left on for a good half an hour while Zack and Cloud had their discussion.

He got in anyway, and tensed himself for the extremely hot water that would soon be blasting his back. He was used to it, but the first shot still burned.

Zack rolled his head, getting his whole head soaked, and reveling in the warmth that the water offered him. _I have a week, then back to being a monster. At least, that's what Angeal calls them. I need to change that._

--

A pair of reading glasses hung from the bridge of Angeal's nose as he reviewed his e-mail on his computer. His eyesight was usually spot-on, but for some reason he always had trouble with reading the small print the computer printed on its monitor. He scrolled down quickly, deleting the majority of them, which consisted of mainly Shinra news announcements. He stopped as 'Sephiroth' came up under the 'From' column. He quickly clicked on the e-mail, curious to see what it was about. Sephiroth usually never sent e-mail's unless it was something important.

He never got the chance.

The screen suddenly went black, and Zack came rushing through the door to his office, shutting it loudly behind him.

"Please knock," Angeal said for the hundredth time.

"Right, sorry. I apparently tripped over the main computer power cable. Scarlet ain't too happy about it."

"That explains me being unable to turn it on," Angeal said, giving up on trying to reboot his computer.

"Yeaaaaa, sorry. Anyway, how about lunch?"

"I guess there's nothing else I can do, can I?"

"Nope," Zack said, grinning.

--

The two ended up at a Wutain Restaurant in Wall Market. Zack was eating a sort of spicy chicken while Angeal settled on egg rolls.

"Ya know, it's kind of weird that although we're taking these guys over, we still rely on them for delicious food," Zack said, his mouth full of chicken and rice.

"Very weird," Angeal said, rolling his eyes at his protégé's lack of manners. "That reminds me. Once your vacation is up, we are being deployed to Wutai to view how the war is going."

Chicken spewed from Zack's mouth as he blurted. "What, already?! We're not supposed to go for another two months!"

"What?" Zack just stared at him, so he ignored it. "Anyway, you were supposed to be deployed at a later time, but due to your promotion to First Class you and I have been chosen to go and "rally" the troops.

Zack grinned. "I give great speeches!" Sticking another mouthful of food in his mouth, he continued, "Is Genesis or Seph going?"

Angeal shook his head. "Genesis was shipped over today, and Sephiroth is busy here. So it's just you and me going then."

"Brotherly bonding!"

Angeal chuckled as Zack choked on his food.

--

**Yes, this was ZackxCloud friendship fluff, but it's _not _yaoi, but if you really want to, interpret it as so, I don't care. Just don't expect them to confess love to each other. However, CloudxTifa is a pairing in this, so hopefully I pleased you guys!**

**Next chapter will be the rest of Zack's vacation, mainly ZackxAerith fluff, with a bit of other minor characters (Zack's SOLDIER Friends).**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be up relatively soon, or at least within the month :) (I won't set a specific date because I will never make it then).**


	11. The Truth

**Another long delay, but I'm sure if any of you looked at my profile, you'd know why. I started a new story, _Twilight_, and I have to admit, I'm having a hell of a lotta fun with it!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I think I replied to each one, but if I didn't, I'll make sure to reply to your next review!**

**This chapter isn't exactly what I planned it to be, but after some outline changes this chapter kinda just came out!**

I don't own FFVII

**Enjoy!  
**

--

Zack and Angeal parted ways at the Sector Five Slums Market. Angeal left to go back up to the Shinra building and hopefully resume his work, and Zack to go to the church, to see Aerith.

Zack opened the wooden doors and his eyes fell onto the wagon that he and Cloud had constructed together only the day before. He had to admit, he was impressed. Cloud was quite the craftsmen, and the wagon was much better than what he could've built on his own. It was a nice dark brown wood that they found out in the Shinra dump, and Zack could only guess it was the desk from Reno's office, destroyed by Reno going crazy from paperwork in his office. The tires Zack "borrowed" from a Shinra employees moped, and a blue fabric with a floral pattern graced the sides. Aerith was more than pleased with it.

It was filled halfway with flowers and Aerith was busy going back and forth gently removing them from the garden and placing them into the wagon.

"Hey," Zack said, waving.

She quickly turned around, and her face brightened when she saw Zack. "Hi! I'm just putting some flowers into the wagon."

"Midgar full of flowers, wallet full of money?" Zack asked, winking at her. She giggled, and Zack said, "Here, let me help. Then, we can go sell them!"

Aerith nodded as she led Zack over to the garden to show him how to move the flowers from one location to another without destroying them. The one thing Zack discovered he was not able to change in this lifetime was his skill with flowers. He was a poor gardener, constantly spilling dirt and accidentally ripping petals off.

"Sorry," Zack mumbled as more dirt spilled onto Aerith's lap.

Aerith frowned at him, but smiled when she looked up and saw his face. "It's okay . . . maybe though, you should just wait?"

Zack flashed a grin at her. "Maybe that's a good idea, but I feel useless."

"Your company is enough." _Always blunt_. Zack grinned to himself, remembering how Aerith used to just flat out say what she was thinking, whether it was good or bad.

And so Zack sat on one of the pews, watching Aerith as she worked. _Still beautiful._ "Hey, Aerith, next week I'm being deployed to Wutai."

The flower that Aerith was holding fell to the ground and the dirt that was stuck to the roots crumbled off. "For how long?"

"I'm . . . not sure. But don't worry, I bet I'll learn some good gardening secrets over there!"

He heard Aerith laugh, but he knew it was forced. Zack frowned. He didn't want to leave Aerith already, but if he wanted to save Angeal from himself, he'd have to.

--

"Hm, where would be a good place to sell?" Zack asked, wandering aimlessly down the street, his pointer finger tapping his chin.

"The market?" Aerith asked, unsure.

Zack spun around and moved his finger to point at her. "Genius, let's go!"

--

Zack was an energetic salesman, if nothing else. He stopped anyone who walked past him, and he did his best to sell the flowers. Many bought one or two because they knew Aerith, and they pitied Zack for his effort, and soon the wagon was empty.

"So, how much did we make?" Zack asked, putting his hands behind his head.

"Hm," Aerith said, counting the gil in her hands. "Looks like we made about 500 gil!"

"Awesome!" Zack cheered, punching his fist into his open hand. "Midgar will be full of flowers in no time!"

"Zack," Aerith said, looking up at him with wide eyes, "thank you." She wrapped her arms around him awkwardly and buried her head into his chest.

Zack wrapped his arms around her and dug his nose into her hair, smelling her sweet scent of flowers, and doing his best to keep from kissing her head, and murmuring the "I love you," he wanted to say so badly.

--

"How were classes Cloud?" Zack asked, putting his feet up on the couch, grabbing the remote to turn on the TV, all the while unscrewing a Coke bottle with his teeth.

"I have to move out of here," Cloud said, his voice quiet.

"What?!" Zack instantly sat up, his Coke almost spilling on the floor. "Why? You've only been here a couple days!" He was soon standing up, the remote falling from his hand. "Stay there, let me talk to Angeal. I'm sure you can stay."

"No," Cloud said as Zack began striding towards the door. "It's not that."

_No, please don't say what I think you're going to say_. "What then?" Zack's voice was hard, he enunciated both words with perfect clarity.

"I-I-I-I'm being . . . no, nevermind, forget it." Cloud's eyes blinked a couple times, and then he turned away from Zack and opened the door to his room.

"Are you being bullied?" _Dammit._

The door closed without Cloud responding. Zack knocked on the door softly a couple times, but Cloud didn't answer.

"Cloud, if you don't come out here, I'm going to go find whoever bullied you and kick his ass out of SOLDIER." Zack said, hoping that he would either cheer Cloud up or appeal to his forgiving side and he would come out to save the bully from getting kicked out.

There was still no response.

"Fine, Spike. I'll be back, and I'll have some kid's head on a stick."

"It's not that!" Cloud's voice erupted from the now open doorway. Cloud's eyes were blotched around the edges, and Zack froze. "I suck okay? I'm the worst person in every damn class, and the only thing I'm good at is freakin' academics, and how the hell is that gonna save _her _?"

Zack knew Cloud was talking about Tifa. "Look, I said I'd train you, and I will. After this week, I'm getting deployed to Wutai, but when I get back, I'll make you the best SOLDIER here."

"It's not going to help."

"Well of course it's not if ya keep doubting yourself! You just gotta have confidence!" Zack playfully punched Cloud on the shoulder. Cloud grunted and began rubbing the targeted spot gently. Zack winced. "Sorry . . . I uh, forget my own strength sometimes . . ."

"S'kay," Cloud said.

"Good, well, you look exhausted, so why don't ya get some sleep?"

"Can we start training tomorrow?" Cloud asked, his eyes looking up at Zack almost apologetically for asking such a request.

Zack just grinned down at him. "Sure, why not? I probably need some rehab for this shoulder anyway."

While Cloud went into his own room, Zack decided it'd be a good idea to go visit the Turks' offices.

--

"Firecrotch," Zack smirked as he walked into Reno's office without so much as a knock. Unlike Angeal, Reno didn't care if someone knocked or not. Well, it depended on who it was, but it didn't matter with Zack.

"Porcupine," Reno grinned back as his fingers flew over his keyboard, probably typing up a report of some sort for a mission.

"I need a favor," Zack said. Reno swiveled around in his chair and leaned back as far as he could.

"And what might that favor be?"

"Make sure nothing happens to Aerith while I'm in Wutai."

"Ya know the Turks always watch her. I don't know how, but ya do."

Zack shook his head. "I know the Turks watch her, but just, don't let them take her back to Shinra."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"Because I know more than I should, and I wouldn't hesitate to spill it to the world if _anything _happened to her."

Reno let out a whole-hearted laugh. "Yo, I think Fair's got a crush! Sure, I'll keep my on her; it'll get Tseng's panties in a bunch, but that's always fun as hell."

Zack smirked, "Just don't get him too mad."

"Aye, aye," Reno drawled, lazily rolling his eyes.

--

**This time, I'm not even giving a preview because I don't want to dissapoint anyone who was expecting anything! :D**

**Reviews are loved, so yup!**

**Also, please check out _Twilight_! It's AU, so I don't know how much any of you will like it, but hopefully you will!**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	12. Something Worth Remembering

**I'm back, and luckily this delay wasn't as long as the last one! **

**If you haven't already, and are interested in FFVII AU's, please check out _Twilight_! No, it is not the same story as _Twilight _with Final Fantasy VII characters, but there are some similarities fans of the book will notice.**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I replied to those with specific comments and questions, but that doesn't mean that other reviews aren't appreciated!**

**Inspired by Illusor Meneald's _Once More, With Feeling _(Forgot that last chapter! I should probably go back and throw that in!)**

**I don't own FF7**

--

Zack's hand was gripped tightly along the railing that hung from the helicopter ceiling. There was no room to sit down, each seat was taken by a Shinra grunt, and the majority of them didn't seem to care that Zack was a higher rank, just that he was younger than them.

"Ignore them Zack," Angeal muttered at his student. Each grunt was taking turns throwing insults at Zack based on his age.

Zack flashed a grin. "Don't worry, I've got it under control." Zack turned his attention back to the grunts. "Sorry, I can't understand you when you talk out of your ass."

Angeal stifled a laugh as an older grunt glared at Zack. Zack merely shrugged as he turned his attention back towards the cockpit, his eyes suddenly completely focused on the pilot. _There's something off about this flight, I know it. I just can't think of -_

"Angeal, where are we being dropped off?" Zack turned towards the older SOLDIER, his eyes wide.

"This is a covert ops mission. We're being dropped behind enemy lines."

"Angeal," Zack's voice was an urgent whisper. "We need to evacuate this helicopter, _now_."

"Why?" Angeal questioned, his voice now a low whisper that matched his student's.

A quiet whine began to fill the air, and it progressively began to get louder and louder. A few grunts glanced at one another nervously before brushing it off as the helicopter making noise.

"_That's _why," Zack whispered. Immediately following Zack's words was the cockpit of the helicopter, erupting into flames. The helicopter began to tailspin and shake violently.

Angeal braced himself, feeling the gust of air threaten to yank him from the helicopter and into the open air. Unfortunately, the grunts were not so lucky.

The ones who were dumb enough to not strap themselves in were instantly pulled from the copter. Their screams were soon drowned out by the wind as they were swept away into the jungle.

"Zack, we need to jump!" Angeal yelled, trying to make himself heard over the roar of explosions that were now surrounding them as more missiles connected with the helicopter, blowing bits away.

Zack gave Angeal a quick salute to show that he understood before he let go of the railing, letting himself be swept away from the helicopter into the night sky. As soon as he was free from the metal framework, he flipped around so that his legs were facing the ground, and he brought his arms close to his torso, creating a smaller target.

Angeal began unstrapping the grunts closest to him. "Grab a parachute, and _jump_." He ordered. Many of these grunts were mere cadets, and Angeal recognized a few faces from the latest batch. _Rooks, great._

The helicopter was nearing the ground, and a few young cadets still remained. "Do you want to die?" Angeal shouted. "Then grab a damn parachute!" They were frozen though, and Angeal sighed. He was First Class SOLDIER, he knew he could survive this, so he began spinning the last cadets around to strap a parachute on them.

"Go!" He yelled once he was certain each one was strapped on tightly. The first cadet to jump escaped out of the helicopter only to be hit by a large bullet that was no doubt supposed to hit the chopper.

None of the cadets would move after that. "Just pull the cord when you get out," Angeal said before shoving each one out of the helicopter. As far as he could tell, the other cadets were luckier than the first one and were not shot out of the sky.

He knew the helicopter was now too close to the ground for him to jump out. Doing his best to stay calm, he strapped himself to a seat and braced himself for the worst.

--

Zack's hair was slicked back as the wind rushed past him. He was quickly getting closer the ground, and the trees that looked like small green pebbles were now looking like real trees.

As he made contact with the first few branches, Zack brought his knees to his chest to brace for the impact. Leaves whipped past him as he continued to gain speed.

_I'm not gonna make it, I'm not gonna make it . . ._ Zack shut his eyes waiting for the ground to come. The feeling of bare skin being scratched by tree branches suddenly stopped, and there was a moment where Zack felt nothing, and then he was completely drenched.

Zack opened his eyes. He was underwater, and for the most part unharmed. His lungs however, now began to feel a slight pain, and Zack realized he had been holding his breath his whole fall.

He quickly swam upwards, not knowing how far up he had to go. He focused on putting one arm in front of the his body and pushing downward, and then repeating. Black spots began to appear around the edge of his vision, but he fought against it. _There's only a few more feet._

His vision was fading, and he shut his eyes as he continued to push. His arms were becoming weak, and just as he was about to give up his head broke the surface of the water. Zack desperately gulped in air as he treaded water. He flicked his hair back and felt stray drops of water splash into the water behind him. He felt around for his sword, only to find that it was missing.

"Damn it," Zack hissed to himself, but he knew now was not the time nor place to scold himself. He swam towards the edge of the small pond, moving as quietly as possible. He didn't know how close he was to the nearest enemy encampment, and he did not want to alert them to his current position, though he figured the loud splash he had made did not help.

Grabbing a rock, Zack hauled himself out of the water before collapsing onto the grass. He pulled out his cellphone to call Angeal and find a place to meet up, only to find that it was broken and waterlogged.

"Damn it!" Zack said, his voice slightly louder this time, as he threw the cellphone away from it. It hit the water with a calm splash that contrasted the lit up sky above.

Zack picked himself up off the ground, hearing the drip of the water as it slid off his skin onto the ground. As he made it to his feet, he heard another splash coming from the small pond. He would have brushed it off as another pebble, but this splash was much louder.

Zack tensed, preparing himself for a Wutai soldier to come out of the water, but instead it was a spluttering Shinra cadet.

The young teen did not notice Zack as he crawled out of the pond, coughing up water as he lay on the ground.

"Hey," Zack said nonchalantly, waving a hand though he knew the cadet probably wouldn't see it. He chuckled as he heard a scraping of boots as the cadet quickly stood up, his pack falling to the ground.

"I have a gun," the cadet said as menacingly as he could, but Zack watched the cadet as his eyes squinted in his direction before lowering his gun. "Sorry sir, I didn't know if you were Wutai . . ."

"Don't worry about it. Name?" Zack crossed his arms as he stared at the cadet. In the brief flashes of light from explosions in the sky Zack could make out a lanky build, shaggy black hair, and bright green eyes.

"Cade Raine, sir," the cadet said as he stood straighter and saluted Zack.

"Call me 'Zack' . . . and no need for the salutes," Zack said. "Do you have any weapons besides your gun?"

"Um, I have a short sword in my pack, but that's it," Cade said, bending down to retrieve the sword.

"I need your sword," Zack said as he bent down to help the cadet.

"Yes, sir . . . I mean Zack."

Zack grinned at Cade. "We're going to set up camp here for the rest of the night, and then in the morning look for SOLDIER First Class Angeal, understood?"

"Um, got it, sir - Zack."

"Good. Here I'll set up the tent, you can relax," Zack said as he slung the cadet's pack over his shoulder and the short sword onto his back, preparing to set up the tent further into the woods.

Cade stood up after him. "It's okay . . . I can do it."

Zack waved a hand at him dismissively. "Don't worry about, I'll get it, I'll need to be at full rest tomorrow morning." Zack sounded much older than his body showed, and Cade seemed to be in awe of it.

"Um, okay, Zack . . . thanks. Most other SOLDIERs are jerks to us cadets."

Zack flashed another grin at Cade. As he turned away and headed into the woods though, his smile turned into a frown as he brow furrowed.

_Angeal, please be okay . . . I should have remembered that this helicopter got shot down . . . and that there were __**no **__survivors found._

_--_

**Cade is an OC of mine, but don't worry, he's not a Mary Sue and he is not a main character . . . he's just a cadet who helps Zack out while he's in Wutai . . . which may be a couple of chapters . . . so no Cloud for a while! Sorry!**

**And suspense! What will happen to Angeal? Is he dead? Who knows! Oh, I do :P**

**Please review!**

**-The Lone Wanderer**


	13. Waiting for the Sun

**Not much to say really. I haven't replied to any reviews, but I will do that tomorrow, so don't worry!**

**Warning to people though: This chapter is _dark_. Apparently that's what making a playlist of songs like "Behind Blue Eyes", "Broken", "Sunburn", and "Orchard of Mines" does to you. I was quite pleased with it though, so hopefully you will like it!**

**Inspired by Illusor Meneald's _Once More, With Feeling _-- Check it out, it's much better than this :D**

**One note: I totally stole the name "Black Trinity" from the story _Heart to Heart_ because that's just a great name!  
**

**I don't own FF7  
**

--

Daylight came much too quickly for the "young" First Class SOLDIER and the cadet. Zack opened his eyes slightly, wincing as the sunlight snuck through the leaves of the trees' canopy and flooded into his eyes.

He involuntarily groaned as he sat up. His body was sore from the wear it received yesterday, and Zack wished he remembered that once the mako wears off, the pain really comes on. His SOLDIER uniform was slightly damp, but the outerwear that he had hung up onto a tree branch had dried almost fully.

Zack stole a glance at Cade, who was still sleeping peacefully. His knees were bent and his legs crossed, his arms folded under his head, forming a makeshift pillow. His chest heaved up and down in a steady rhythm, signaling his sleep. His hair was still plastered to his face, having dried while sticking to it.

Zack frowned as he stared at Cade's lanky form. _Too young for this . . . but so was - am I _The boy shouldn't be here, but one thought offered Zack a slight peace of mind. _Before, there were no survivors. At least now there's two._

Cade shifted before his right eye shot open, staring at Zack. He instantly bolted upright and stumbled backwards. Zack smirked at the cadet as he tried to pick himself back up.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting to wake up to you . . . watching me," Cade mumbled.

"Musta been creepy for ya; I've only been up for a couple minutes, but I figure it's time to get moving now that you're awake."

Cade nodded before standing up to pack up the tent.

"Leave it," Zack ordered. Cade quickly dropped the pole that was in his hand. "It'll just slow us down. We need to be stealthy . . . we don't know if Wutai troops already started investigating."

"Right, my bad," Cade mumbled.

Zack sat down on a log as he laced on his boots. "How good of a shot are you?"

"Best in my recruiting class," Cade responded as he shrugged on his military overcoat.

"Good. We don't have PHSs to communicate, do you know any hand signals?" Zack asked, strapping his right pauldron onto his shoulder.

"We just started classes last week," Cade said apologetically. When he saw the scowl on Zack's face, he quickly added, "I can try to guess though!"

"Huh?" Zack's face instantly softened when he noticed Cade was responding to his contorted face. "Oh, no. It's not your fault. We're just gonna have to hope we can stay close enough to communicate."

Cade nodded. "I'll just hang back once we get into combat."

Zack smiled at him. "Good idea. You're catching on to this whole military tactics thing."

Cade grinned. "Not as good as you. You're sixteen and you already know almost everything there is!"

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Who told you that?"

"It's not a secret Zack. You've been big news ever since you hit First Class . . . youngest to do so they say. Even younger than Sephiroth."

_Only in body_ "Hmph. So the pressure's on, eh?" Zack managed to smirk at Cade. "You ready?"

Cade nodded eagerly. "You got it!"'

Zack elegantly grabbed the short sword that was leaning against a tree, twirled it twice, and sheathed it onto his back.

_Angeal, I'm coming._

--

Another sharp pain jolted through his head as it was was slammed against the cold, tile wall of the locker room.

An cry of pain escaped his lips as he he collapsed to the ground. Blood that dripped from his mouth swirled in with the water from the shower head, giving it a pink hue.

A calloused hand roughly grabbed his hair and yanked him up to stare in dark brown eyes. The offender's lips were curled up into a snarl, and he let go of the hair just to see him fall against the ground again.

"I bet I know why that faggot Fair 'specially chose you for his SOLDIER mentoring, eh? Wonder why he's a First so soon . . . I bet he sucked off the damn Director."

"Shut up! That's not true!" Cloud tried to shout, but it came out as a choked sob.

The brown-eyed cadet howled in laughter at Cloud's attempt to tell him off before kicking him in the gut. "You like that huh? You were the bitch in the recruiting class, and you'll be the bitch here."

A few other cadets stood behind the leader, snickering as the leader walked out. They trailed behind, leaving the blonde to lie in the shower, mucus and blood flowing freely and mixing.

--

Zack held up a closed fist, and Cade stopped. He managed to pick up a few signals, but the two still had to use speech as their main form of communication.

Once he was sure Cade was looking at him, he pointed into the small clearing. Three Wutai soldiers were stationed there with a small camp. One sat on a log, stoking a fire. Another leaned against a tree, smoking a cigarette. The third was clearly the leader. He was standing with his back to the other two, his posture erect, a golden hat sitting on his head.

Zack inclined his head towards Cade, and whispered, "Fire when you think you have a good shot."

Before Cade could utter a word in response to Zack's cryptic message, Zack stepped out of the trees the two were using as cover, and the soldier with the cigarette stood up straight and opened his mouth to call to his comrades, allowing the cigarette to fall from his mouth. It hit the dew covered ground and extinguished with a hiss.

"SOLDIER," the soldier called out, his speech covered with a heavy accent.

The leader spun around and pulled out a spear. Zack lazily pulled his sword out of the sheath slowly and dropped it to the ground, then put his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"What you want, SOLDIER?" The leader questioned in broken common.

"I was in the chopper that got shot down . . . figured it's easier to surrender," Zack drawled, intentionally making his voice lazier than usual.

"Wutai no take prisoner," the man who was sitting growled at Zack.

Zack snapped his fingers, sarcastically saying, "Oh darn. Looks like I'm gonna die." The soldier who was smoking the cigarette let his lips curl up into a demonic smile. "Can I say one thing though?" He asked, eyes wide with innocence.

"One thing," the leader allowed, nodding his head.

"Nice hat."

A shot rang out and the leader crumpled to the ground, dead. Zack ducked as another bullet flew over his head and hit the cigarette smoking soldier in the leg. While close to the ground Zack picked the short sword back up and sprinted towards the sitting soldier, tackling him to the ground and plunging the sword into his chest, killing him instantly. Without looking, he flung the sword into the direction of the last soldier and impaled him to the tree.

It was over in a matter of seconds, and when Cade emerged from his cover, Zack was still crouching on the ground, his hair draped around his face eerily.

"I thought my shot was good, but damn," Cade muttered. "I can see why you made it into First while this young."

Zack looked up and smiled at the cadet, but the smile didn't reach his violet eyes, which betrayed a hint of sadness that Cade did not pick up on.

"We better go," Zack said. As he strode past the soldier who was impaled against the tree, he pulled out the sword with little mercy. "Sorry," was all he muttered as the man fell to the ground. It was clear his mind was on other things.

Cade pointed up to the sky where a trail of smoke was forming. "Zack, do you think that's it?" He asked.

Zack looked up. "I think so, let's go." With that he took off into the woods, and Cade to sprint to keep up with him.

--

Evidence of the crash was clear long before Zack saw the wreckage. Trees were charred and bushes were burnt to ashes. A think layer of smoke coated the air above, forcing Cade to pause every once in a while to take a deep breath. The mako in Zack's system helped to prevent this. Zack stopped too though and breathed with Cade, for another reason.

_Please Angeal, be alive . . . I can't fail this._

The two continued their way through the blackened forest, increasing their speed once they saw flames lick the already burned branches. If fire was here, the crash must be near.

"Oh my God," Cade gasped, covering his mouth as he saw the crash. Zack merely stared onward, no emotion showing on his face.

The helicopter was a mangled wreck on the ground. If anybody was on it when it impacted, they were surely dead. _Please have jumped_ Zack silently begged, though a little voice in the back of his head told him he was lying to himself.

Making his way to the innermost piece of the chopper, Zack broke into a run when he saw an instantly recognizable body strapped into a seat. The skin was blackened and the hair was burned partly off, but Zack knew it was Angeal.

"Angeal!" Zack cried as he ran to his mentor's side. There was no response. Zack shook the body, incoherently pleading and begging for a reaction, but none came. Zack let out a choked sob, wrapping his arms around the charred corpse. "No, no, no!" The tears flowed freely, and Zack didn't care that Cade was staring at him.

_Men cry not for themselves, but for their comrades._

"Zack, I'm so sorry," Cade said quietly, but Zack ignored him. _I FAILED . . . damn it Minerva, you give me a chance and then take it away again. _

Zack forced himself to blink away the tears. He was in enemy territory, and if any Wutai troops caught him and Cade at this moment . . . then there would once again be no survivors of the famous crash of Wutai.

Zack stood up, refusing to wipe the tears away from his grimy face. There they would stay, they would stain his face. They would be there to show any Wutai soldier who stood in his way _who _he was fighting for.

Zack pulled one of the dog tags from around Angeal's neck, and looped the chain around his own. He then grabbed the Buster Sword, which despite being covered in ash was not broken, and replaced the short sword with it.

A member of the Black Trinity was gone. The pain Zack had felt when his mentor first died was increased tenfold but he forced himself to repress it again. He _had _to. For Cade. He barely knew the cadet, but he was too young to die.

_Angeal, I swear, I will avenge you, and I will save your friends_.

--

**Please don't hate me. This was very hard to do, but it is necessary for the story. I had this planned from the beginning, and although I didn't want to go through with it, I had to.**

**I know you probably want to yell at me or something :P so go ahead. I'm at 93 reviews, think we can break 100? I think so!**

**Please tell me if you like this darker kind of writing too, otherwise, I'll make a new playlist to listen to while writing :D**

**Thanks!**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	14. Lost and Running

**Well, I got a hundred reviews, and then some! I love you guys! I think I'll write a one-shot because of that . . . or maybe a few depending on how many requests I get. Just leave a review and let me know what you want to see! Just no yaoi, or Clerith :P**

**Sorry it took a bit longer than a week to get this up. I've been busy, with the school year almost ending and re-writing _Twilight_ is taking up some time. So go read it! It's currently under the title _Sunset_, but I will change it once I delete the original.**

**Special thanks to isamu-michi for giving me a heads up about how dog tags work! I went back and fixed that, so it should be correct :D  
**

**This week, my playlist was made up of Evanescence and Muse. Hope you guys like how it turned out!**

**Inspired by Illusor Meneald's _Once More, With Feeling_**

**I don't own FFVII**

--

Zack pressed the side of the Buster Sword onto his forehead, and was met with the familiar coolness that the sword always emitted. His thoughts cleared instantly, and Zack felt connected to his mentor once again. The fact that he was in the Lifestream instead of merely six feet under comforted him, if only a little.

"Um, Zack, it looks like we have company," Cade said quietly, doing his best to alert his commander without bothering him.

Zack slowly lowered the Buster Sword, which left ashes on his forehead. It would be a sign to all the Wutai soldiers that he was fighting for Angeal. "Right," Zack said, "let's greet them." The words were a joke, but the dark undertone that was carried by them made the comment scarier than it was funny. "How many are there?" He asked.

Cade peeked his head around the tree, and Zack watched as his head nodded four times, counting off each soldier. "Four," he said, turning back to Zack.

"Stay here," Zack ordered. "Guard Angeal's body. I'll take care of the soldiers." Cade looked like he was going to protest, but closed his mouth when he decided it was better not to bother Zack at a time like this.

Zack quickly and quietly scaled the tree that Cade was hiding behind just a moment earlier. He grabbed each branch and hoisted himself up easily until he was at the top, crouching on a thick branch covered with leaves. He looked down and counted four soldiers, but as his eyes drifted to the north he saw a whole platoon heading towards the crash site. There were at about forty shoulders, and while Zack knew that if his body was fully developed he could take them easily, he wasn't so sure how his sixteen year old body would fair.

Zack turned his head down towards the ground and whispered to Cade. "There's a whole platoon coming. Those four were just scouts. Take Angeal's body and head south. There should be a base about seven miles from here."

"Are you crazy?" Cade whispered back. "I can't just leave you here. That's suicide!"

"Are you disobeying me, soldier?" Zack questioned, his voice harsh. His mako enhanced eyes could see Cade's face distort in annoyance for a moment, before his features turned into a resigned look.

"No sir. But Zack, you better come back."

"Don't worry kid, I will." Cade chuckled slightly, but Zack could tell it was forced. He heard the slight rustling of the ground underneath him as Cade picked up Angeal's body. He heard a grunt as Cade tried to adjust Angeal's limp form over his shoulders.

"I got him. Zack . . . thanks," Cade said, his voice barely above a whisper, but Zack heard it like he was speaking normally.

Zack glanced back at the troops who were heading his way. The four scouts were already almost at the clearing, and Zack prepared to jump down and ambush them.

Once he was sure Cade was far enough away, he made his move. He jumped out of the tree, unsheathing the Buster Sword in mid-air. He brought the blade over his head and swung it downwards just as he was about to hit the ground.

The first soldier was dead before any others knew what had happened. In half a second Zack had crossed the distance between him and the next soldier. The Buster Sword came around in an arc and cleaved the man's arm off. As he fell, Zack kicked him in the throat to prevent him from screaming. The lead scout fired a few rounds at Zack, but it was a spray and pray tactic; the bullets were far from hitting their mark. Zack jumped up again before landing on the soldier, grabbing his collar and pressing his feet down onto the soldiers chest. The soldier went crashing to the ground, and Zack punched him the face once, and knocked him out. The last solder opened his mouth to scream, but no words came out as the Buster Sword impaled him.

Zack didn't have any time to take a break. He needed to get the jump on the rest of the platoon, and the best way to do that would be to catch them in the forest where they wouldn't be able to get a good shot off at him.

He took off into the woods, sprinting. The Buster Sword was back on his back as he evaded tree roots, jumping on logs and rocks to get through faster. The first soldier he saw he smashed against a tree, killing him. Not much later, he saw another two soldiers walking. He sprinted up the the first one, grabbing his gun before turning it around and squeezing the trigger, filling the soldier with a few rounds of lead. He blindly fired behind him at the other soldier and hit his mark.

He heard the sound of gunshots being fired, and looked up to see twenty soldiers lined up behind a set of trees. _Damn it. A trap_ Zack thought before unsheathing his Buster Sword again, ready to avenge his mentor.

--

Sephiroth did his best to keep his voice calm, but it was very difficult. "Angeal . . . is dead?"

"Yes, sir. I apologize, Commander Hewley was a great asset to the Shinra military, it is unfortunate that his passing came so soon."

"Where is Genesis?" Sephiroth rubbed his temples with his right hand. One of his best friends, dead. One of the Black Trinity, dead. President Shinra, who has no sympathy for anyone in the military, will probably yell at him later for the bad publicity this will cause. And then Sephiroth will be forced to come up with a plan to cover it up and make Shinra look good.

"General Rhapsodos had left for the crash site as soon as the cadet arrived. SOLDIER First Class Zackary Fair is still in the field and is supposedly fighting a platoon of Wutai soldiers on his own."

Normally Sephiroth would not worry if a First Class SOLDIER had decided to face off a platoon of soldiers on his own. However, Zack was just promoted, and was most likely in distress and not thinking straight after just losing his mentor. Seeing him in action, Sephiroth knew physically, Zack could handle it. Emotionally though, was a different issue. _Angeal's puppy is either much stronger than we had anticipated, or he is just stupid._

"Once Lieutenant Fair gets back, send him and Cadet Raine back here immediately. I want those two in this building and debriefed in twelve hours."

--

A speck of red snaked its way through the forest as fluidly, avoiding everything in it's path. It emerged in a clearing where a tired First Class SOLDIER was busy fighting fourteen Wutai soldiers.

In a flash, Genesis flipped into the air and landed his sword into a soldier's chest. His hand shot out from his side as he cast a Hell Firaga at the four soldiers that surrounded Zack. Two more soldiers were quickly felled by his blade, which cut through them like they were butter.

The pressure easing up on the young SOLDIER, Zack cast a cure spell on himself before swinging again.

After Genesis' entrance, the battle was quickly over. Zack's hands were on his thighs as he bent over, panting.

Genesis flicked his hair out of his eyes before speaking to him. "That was stupid. You should have come to our base and alerted the troops."

Zack looked up and eyed Gensis. His face was hard. "I _did_. I sent Cade. I wasn't going to let another soldier die today."

Genesis had nothing to say to that.

--

Cloud sat in the locker room, his lip busted and his eye blackened. Dried blood began to cake his face, but he did not wash it off. He merely sat on a wooden bench in the locker room, his towel wrapped around his waist.

Kunsel, unaware of anything going on in the locker room earlier, entered with the small intention of using the bathroom. However, when he saw Cloud there, his blond hair flattened and matted with blood, any thoughts of his bladder were instantly lost.

"Holy shit," he muttered, rushing to the cadet's side. He grabbed a folded up towel at the end of the bench and spat on it to moisten it. It wasn't the most sanitary thing, but it would clean the blood off of Cloud's face. "Are you okay?"

Cloud stared straight forward before suddenly blinking and looking straight at Kunsel, his ice blue eyes piercing Kunsel's blue ones. "I'm fine."

Kunsel sighed, shaking his head. "You don't look like it. Come on, get dressed, I'm taking you to the infirmary." He grabbed Cloud's arm to pull him up, but was met with resistance.

"No."

"Wait a sec, you're Zack's pet, right?" Kunsel asked. Cloud gave him an odd look. "Yea, you are. Come on, you're going. If not, Zack'll kick my ass."

"No," Cloud said again. His voice was defiant, the opposite of how Cloud looked at the moment.

"Christ. Fine, if you're gonna be difficult, you're at least coming back to my room so I can clean you up." Cloud shot him a look, but without missing a beat, Kunsel said, "that's an order."

--

**I hope you guys liked this chapter. Not as long, but Genesis kinda had a big part, and Cloud is back! Seph also made an appearance, as he will begin to do so now more often!**

**Leave any comments, questions or concerns! I love them all!**

**-The Lone Wanderer**


	15. Urgent

**I really should be studying for exams, but instead I had a great idea for this chapter pop into my head so I had to get it out!**

**I'll reply to all the reviews on Wednesday, after my school let's out for summer. Please keep reviewing though! It keeps me going!**

**At the moment I'm having writer's block with **_**Twilight**_**, but I hope to get a new chapter out soon! If any of you have any ideas, shoot me a PM or review on the story and let me know! You will get credited if I use it! :D**

**I don't own FFVII**

**Enjoy!**

--

Zack sat on the ground, the back of his head resting on the wall behind him. His rests were resting on his knees, letting his hands hang limply. His eyes were closed as he breathed in and out deeply and evenly.

Cade, actually following protocol, sat erect in the chair that sat across from the General's desk, eyes wide and mouth pulled into a tight line.

"Cadet Raine, as of now, you are a Corporal. Please go find Lieutenant Pine and he will direct you to your new quarters." Sephiroth's voice was monotone and calm as his nimble fingers quickly flipped through Cade's files.

Cade sat up a little too quickly, and accidentally knocked the chair over. "Sorry," he mumbled before rushing out of the room, offering a small goodbye to Zack on his way out. Zack waved back numbly, not opening his eyes. The small smirk that graced Sephiroth's usually plain face diminished as soon as he saw the young SOLDIER.

"Zackary Fair, please sit in the chair," Sephiroth requested, but Zack didn't move.

"Why?" He asked.

It was the first time a subordinate other than Angeal or Genesis had openly questioned him. He did not know how to react, and as his eyes widened he said the only logical reason he could think of.

"It's better for your posture."

When a lazy smile crossed Zack's features, something tugged at Sephiroth. He felt oddly satisfied when Zack got up and slipped into the chair, though his posture was no better, possibly worse, than when he was sitting on the floor.

Sephiroth quietly cleared his throat before pulling out Zack's files. "Lieutenant Fair, looking through your files, you are sixteen years old, correct?"

"Why are ya asking me questions you already know the answer to?" Zack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Merely making small talk; that is something you and your men do, correct?" Zack's other quirked upward in curiosity, but he nodded his head.

"There is no easy way to say this Zack, and I know you will think me a heartless leader when you hear this," Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought how to word his next statement. "As you know, President Shinra is all about public image." Zack nodded his head. "This is as hard for me as it is for you, I assure you. With Angeal's death, he has asked me to find a suitable replacement for the "Black Trinity" that we were known as. I have deemed you a suitable candidate."

Zack's laugh was hollow. "You're shitting me right? Angeal's barely been dead for a day and you are already finding a replacement?"

"Zack, please. Do you think I want to wipe Angeal's death away that easily? This is to satisfy President Shinra's wants."

"And what if I refuse?" Zack knew he wouldn't be able to, and he knew what he was doing was stupid, but he needed to take his anger out on _something_.

"Is that a declination of my proposal?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as he began to put Zack's file back into a drawer.

Zack raised a hand in protest. "No! It's just," Zack slumped further in his chair as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just, hard to see Angeal go, ya know?" Quietly, so only he could hear, he added, "_again._"

"You have no idea Zack. Genesis I think has been hit the hardest. After dropping you off at the camp he sent me an e-mail saying that he was leaving and would not be back for a while. My only guess is that he has gone back to Banora."

Zack sighed. "Yea, I accept your offer. Why me thought? Why not a different, more experienced SOLDIER First?"

Sephiroth turned towards his computer to reply to an e-mail as he spoke, though his real intentions were to hide his face from Zack. "You have shown experience beyond your short sixteen years Zack. Also, I received an e-mail yesterday with a personal recommendation for you to be Angeal's replacement."

Zack knocked on the desk a couple times. It was obvious he wanted to grab a hold of something, but Sephiroth's desk was bare. Eventually, he gave up and left, visibly shaken by Sephiroth's last statement.

--

Zack slammed the door to his apartment shut before throwing his jacket over the recliner that was near-by.

"Hey!" a muffled voice squeaked. Zack stopped, and slowly turned around, ready to face the intruder. Zack stumbled back in surprise when he saw Aerith standing there, her hair a mess from the blanket that was now hanging off her.

"Aerith!" Zack hissed. His brain began working overtime. _Aerith here? But, Shinra! Capture! Ancient! _All thoughts of Angeal were instantly forgotten for that moment. Aerith monopolized his head. "What are you doing here?"

Aerith placed her hands on her hips and stuck her bottom lip out, pouting. "Coming to see you Mr. Fair! I saw the information on the crash on the news. Thank you for not telling me!"

Zack instantly shrunk underneath her glare. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, sorry," he mumbled.

"I was worried!" she shrieked before rushing to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Zack was frozen in shock for a moment, then he slowly hugged her back. Her knees were bent and all her weight was hanging from Zack's neck, but he didn't notice. "I'm sorry," she whispered into his chest.

He knew what she was talking about. "Thanks," he murmured into her hair. _Her hair smells good_.

"What?" Aerith suddenly stepped away from Zack.

"Huh?" He asked, confused. Did he speak his thoughts?

"You think my hair smells good?" Zack just flashed a grin at her. _Geez, why I can't just be around her forever? She makes everything just go away. _He leaned in, staring at her intently. She stared back, her green eyes sparkling, her lips twisted just upwards into the faintest smile. _Yes!_

"What are you guys doing?" The front door and Cloud stepped in, taking his helmet off. Blond spikes emerged and they continued to be unruly despite the force the helmet put on them while it was on.

Aerith stumbled backwards, blushing profusely, but Zack snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "We _were_ about to have our first kiss, before you so rudely interrupted," Zack said, resting his chin on Aerith's head.

"Sorry," Cloud said, looking downwards, clearly ashamed.

"Hey! I was kidding!" Zack quickly let go of Aerith to grab Cloud.

Zack cupped Cloud's chin with his thumb and pointer-finger, bringing his face up to look him in the eyes.

"I'm glad you're okay," Cloud whispered.

"Yea . . . thanks Spike." The two stood there for a moment, and Aerith stared, not knowing what was going to happen next. Zack then grabbed Cloud into a big bear-hug. "Kunsel told me what happened."

"Damn it," Cloud groaned before shrugging out of Zack's grasp.

"And you," Zack turned to face Aerith. "Were not going to tell me."

"He told me not to," Aerith said, standing up straight. Zack shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. _Leave it to Aerith to be incredibly loyal and defiant._

"It's not a big deal," Cloud said softly.

"I'll be the one to determine that," Zack said.

"No, I will," Cloud said, standing up straight and heading into his room, brushing past Zack.

"Wait!" Zack called after him.

"Just leave me alone Zack!" The door slammed shut behind him.

Aerith lightly placed a hand on Zack's arm. "He'll open up when he's ready."

"Yea, I hope so."

--

"Seriously, Seph?"

"I told you President Shinra was all about looks Zack. And don't call me Seph," Sephiroth told the younger SOLDIER. The two were standing behind the curtain in the Shinra auditorium, waiting for President Shinra to introduce the two.

Shinra had called an emergency press conference to discuss the dealings of Wutai and how people did have to worry about the situation in Wutai, despite the sudden death of a member of the Black Trinity _and _the crashing of a Shinra helicopter, with only two survivors. To make it even more interesting, one of those survivors was the newest member of the Black Trinity.

"May I introduce to you," President Shinra's booming voice echoed throughout the hall, "the newest member of the Black Trinity, Zack Fair!"

Sephiroth nudged Zack, who walked onstage. _This whole even is disgusting_. Zack forced himself to put on a smile though. He would be friendly to the reporters and answer all the asked questions to the best of his ability.

Sephiroth's offer for help drifted into his mind. "If you need any help, just call me forward." _Right . . . I'll probably do that._

Zack stopped when he was in front of the wooden podium. Glare from the light shone into his eyes, and he squinted as he anxiously rapped his knuckles on the podium. "Well, as you guys know, I'm Zack Fair."

Instant applause. Zack smiled at this, because although he hated it, he had to admit the applause was somewhat flattering.

As soon as the applause died down, the first question was fired. "How do you feel about being the youngest First Class SOLDIER, ever?" The reporter was a woman, who wore too much make-up and a too small green blouse that enunciated her cleavage.

"It's an honor, really. Growing up I looked up to Sephiroth," he glanced at Sephiroth, and winked. _Hell, I can at least have my fun, right?_ "Then I got here, and as many of you know, Angeal was my mentor."

Another question was asked before Zack took another breath. "Do you feel as if your promotion to Major General has been overshadowed by Angeal's untimely death?" This time the reporter was a mousy man.

"I would hope it is. Angeal was a great man, and one I looked up to. He died with honor." _And not believing he was a monster_ Zack added silently. He guessed it was one good thing that came of this. Angeal died thinking he was a normal human, not the monster he convinced himself he was when he forced Zack to fight him.

"I see," the mousy reporter continued. "You were one of the two survivors in the Wutai crash. How did you feel, knowing you were all alone?"

Zack made an attempt at a joke. "Well, I was pretty damn scared until Genesis showed up and saved my ass." _There Genesis, I'm promoting you as a hero._

"Hm, not a good aspect for a SOLDIER . . ." the reporter said.

Sephiroth stepped up quickly and spoke into the mic. "With all due respect sir," he cleared his throat, "Zack went up against a platoon of soldiers in order to save a cadet. I believe he was being modest. One does not do that if they are scared."

Zack's mako enhanced ears heard pens scratch against paper.

A new reporter spoke up, this time it was a black man. "Going up against a platoon of SOLDIERs by yourself, to save a cadet. If this is your plan as a newly appointed Commander, the war in Wutai seems like a no-win scenarios."

Sephiroth stepped forward once against to defend Zack, but this time Zack stopped him by placing a hand on his chest. Zack turned to the reporter, looked him dead in the eye, and said in complete seriousness, "I don't believe in no-win scenarios."

It was unclear where it started, but soon the hall was filled with thunderous applause.

--

**Well there ya go!**

**Again, Please review, and thank you everyone who has reviewed so far!**

**FAQS!**

_**Q: Is Angeal really dead? **_

**A: Yes, Angeal is quite dead. His memory will not be forgotten though.**

_**Q: Is this Zack/Aerith or Zack/Cloud?**_

**A: Zack/Aerith, with hints of Cloud/Tifa and possibly some full Cloud/Tifa later on**

_**Q: Why isn't Genesis upset over Angeal's death?**_

**A: Oh, he's pissed XD**

_**Q: Why is Cloud so weak?**_

**A: He's 14 and a Cadet in the Shinra Military. He ain't a bad-ass SOLDIER First yet :P**


	16. Author's Note

**Just wanted to let you guys know, I'm re-writing _Yesterday, Again_.**

**Look for it under the title _Hollow Men_.**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


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